Originally Posted by
Roger
On a beautiful still evening on Wednesday last week my wife and I flew back from Queenstown and enjoyed the very friendly company of a Canadian tourist beside us in 1C. The flight service manager and attendant were very friendly and professional and the day was made all the more perfect by the 6.5 cent SP rise to finally crack $3 in reasonably convincing fashion.
Renee was happy to serve us another wine on the Koru hour flight, (who knew what was left after the initial passenger service was tipped down the drain ?), and all seemed extremely well with the world.
So I got to thinking...why has the SP been so strong against such a backdrop of thunderclouds wherever you look and what is it about AIR that's so special ? Initial thoughts.
1. We live in a really beautiful country. Really the clarity and purity of Lake Wakitipu is just as superb as I remember it 40 years ago as a kid, (same for Lake Taupo)
2. Queenstown is really going off in a huge way
3. The staff you meet on AIR flights seem to be happy with their jobs and are very friendly and professional, (lets be honest all airlines use similar hardware so its the people and attitude that make a difference
4. I enjoy flying on an airline where I have a meaningful stake and I am sure other Kiwi's enjoy flying their national airline
5. Clearly the market is anticipating a ripper half year result
6. I suspect a lot of baby boomer's have extra time and money on their hands now the kids have left home and are well and truly cognisant of the fact that due to the phenomenon of hedonic adaption, stuff per se doesn't make you happy but varied and interesting travel experiences with family and friends does.
7. With cheaper fuel airfares are coming down and I think people are travelling more.
With so much pollution, crowding, security and other issues elsewhere in the world I think N.Z. tourism has a very bright future especially now our $Kiwi is at a more attractive level.
Anyway that's FWIW my further musings last week...obviously as previously posted I hold the management team in the highest regard and the balance sheet and cash flow are extremely robust. I'm looking forward to the half year result and flying again with AIR soon.