Valuing difference at Air New Zealand At Air New Zealand individuality and diversity are celebrated. Their vision ‘is to create an inclusive environment where our diverse workforce of Air New Zealanders, proudly representative of Aotearoa, can be themselves and thrive’.

1 Female pilots and engineers are well supported as part of WINGS (Women Inspiring the Next Generation). ‘According to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, women make up 5% of airline pilots worldwide. Air NZ is a nudge ahead at 7.4% female pilots.’

2 Their inclusivity is recognised by earning accessibility, gender and rainbow ticks. In considering ethnic diversity they seek to be both inclusive and also representative of their customer base.

3 Air New Zealand encourages their employees to consider switching careers within the company too, with team members commencing as flight attendants and ultimately training as pilots.

4 At Air New Zealand there is always time for a chat ‘Kia ora’, and ‘going above and beyond to make every journey a great experience from start to finish’. The Māori and Pasifika are visible: ‘He aha te mea nui o tea o? What is the most important thing in the world? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata. It is the people, it is the people, it is the people.’

5 In 2019, Air New Zealand served 5.8 million cups of coffee, opened 60 000 bottles of champagne, offset 50 000 tonnes of carbon by customers and had over 950 000 flights booked by Airpoints members.

6 Then COVID-19 hit the airline industry, Aotearoa/New Zealand and Australia and a lot of countries restricted air passenger travel and things were dire. However, during 2022 the industry began to recover. Air New Zealand hired more than 2000 new staff for that year and had forecasts just for the peak summer period of 15 December 2022 to 1 February 2023 of 2.8 million passengers.

7 If that trend continues, they will need to hire still more staff. Beyond skills and qualifications, each employee needs to have the Air New Zealand qualities of welcoming customers as a friend, expressing a can do attitude, being yourself and sharing your Aotearoa, which means showing people who you are and your passion and spirit while representing New Zealand.

Question:
What advice would you offer Air New Zealand about how to better hire empathetic employees who fit with the company’s unique culture?