Airways New Zealand receives industry recognition for excellence

Airways New Zealand has been recognised for 'excellence in the provision of air traffic control services' by the Aviation Industry Association of New Zealand at its annual conference in Auckland last week.

Upon receiving the award, Airways New Zealand CEO Ashley Smout said the award was hugely significant for the company, since it was from the people who mattered most to the company - its industry peers and customers.

"For some years now, Airways New Zealand has aspired to World's Best Practice in every facet of our operations. Our vision has been to become a key player in global air navigation services by demonstrating best practice in the delivery of our services here in New Zealand," said Mr Smout.

"This award confirms we are on track to achieving our vision, and says a lot about the type of people that work at Airways New Zealand. It is a reflection of their professionalism, dedication and expertise, that we have been singled out for this recognition, and typifies the way we work in this company."

"I in turn want to single out every employee who has contributed to our success on both the New Zealand and global stage in recent times. The air traffic controllers, flight data officers, technical and support staff and the corporate staff behind the scenes can all be proud of this achievement - they really are good at what they do and I'm proud to be associated with them."

Since restructuring in the 1990s, Airways New Zealand has consistently delivered increased value to its customer airlines. Following a 22% reduction in enroute charges in 1995, Airways prices have been reduced by another 13% since 1997, an overall reduction of over 30%.

Airways New Zealand has a Partnership Plan with the Board of Airline Representatives of New Zealand (BARNZ) and every year opens its books to ensure transparency in its dealings with them. As part of this Plan, Airways operates a rebate scheme which, since its induction, has returned some $8m to the industry.

Airways New Zealand benchmarks itself favourably against a number of overseas air navigation services providers including Australia, South Africa, Ireland, Denmark and Thailand. On a number of criteria including 'total ANS cost per movement' Airways' performance is internationally recognised as 'best in class'.

Since the mid-1990s, Airways New Zealand's safety performance, in terms of 'loss of separation incidents' has improved steadily, to a point where it can now be regarded as being close to World's Best Practice.

In 2003, Airways New Zealand received the industry's highest accolade, the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) Eagle Award, for outstanding performance in services to the airline industry.

ENDS

For Further Information please contact:

Corporate Communications Manager Ph: (04) 04 471 1888
Email: nikki.hawkey@airways.co.nz

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