Air New Zealand forecasts multi-million dollar loss

Airlines have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Airlines have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo credit: Getty.

Air New Zealand is forecasting an underlying loss of up to NZ$120 million for the financial year ending June 30, as it grapples with a plunge in air travel demand following the coronavirus outbreak.

Last month, the airline warned of an annual loss after it reported a slew of impairment charges it would take on its planes and a 30 percent cut in its workforce.

The COVID-19 outbreak has wiped out almost all commercial traffic, forcing carriers around the world to layoff employees and call for government aid to survive.

Air New Zealand said last week it was aiming to return to "healthy profits" by 2022 under a plan that includes flying fewer passengers and routes and possibly cutting more jobs.

The company will record a NZ$70 million non-cash gain in its full-year results related to the impact of foreign exchange movements on some of its unhedged debt, it said in a statement to the NZX on Thursday.