By Tony Field
Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe will step down at the end of the year.
He’s seen tough times during his six years in the job; including the Airbus crash in Perpignan, which killed seven people.
He has also achieved a rare feat in the airline industry – ensuring Air New Zealand is profitable, even while many of its rivals lose billions.
Mr Fyfe says he wants to pursue new opportunities and allow others within the airline to further their careers.
“The role of Air New Zealand in the psyche of New Zealanders, it has had a far bigger impact on me than I would expect. You find yourself interacting with people, day and night, both in the business and outside the business.”
Mr Fyfe estimates that through texting, email and Facebook, he interacts with around 30,000 people each year.
His chairman, John Palmer, says Mr Fyfe has been a great motivator for the airline’s 11,500 staff.
“You have got to have a can-do attitude, you have got to have people who are passionate about it and who want to come to work in the morning and feel really good about the business,” he says.
“A significant part of Rob’s legacy is that you see that in all parts of the business, every day.”
It has been a turbulent six years.
Mr Fyfe oversaw the introduction of new more fuel-efficient long-haul planes, complete with innovative new cabins.
But there have also been redundancies, as the airline struggled to stay profitable.
A high point for Mr Fyfe was last year’s journey to Scott Base with the families of some of those killed in the 1979 Mt Erebus air disaster.
“To see the impact that had on those people and how that helped them to move forward was one of the more special moments I think,” he says.
By leaving at the end of the year, it means Mr Fyfe won’t be there when the airline finally takes delivery of the first of its long-awaited Dreamliners.
Nor will he be in charge when the Government sells down its stake in the airline, from 75 percent to just over 50 percent.
The airline says it will take around six months to appoint a new chief executive and expects there will be strong interest in the job from overseas.
But, it also says there will be some strong candidates from within the organisation.
“I’d like to hope so, but ultimately it’s not my decision. It’s a decision for the Board of Directors,” says Mr Fyfe.
He is coy about his own plans, including rumours he might be eyeing a role with Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin airline.
“My heart certainly lies here in New Zealand, my long-term ambition is to base myself here, but time will tell.
“I haven’t yet figured out what that might be or where that might be and to be honest, my priority for the next coming months is Air New Zealand, so it will be a long time before I am setting my mind to that challenge.”
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