It is my privilege to welcome you all to this year's annual shareholders' meeting. First acknowledgments were to our loved ones who have passed. I then went on to acknowledge the[Non-English content ]. Finally, I extended acknowledgments to you, our[Non-English content ], who have taken the time to join us virtually for this year's annual shareholders' meeting. [Non-English content .] At this time, I would like to invite our first speaker, Dame Therese Walsh. [Non-English content ]
[Non-English content ]. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Air New Zealand's 2021 annual shareholders meeting. My name is Therese Walsh, and I'm the chairman of Air New Zealand's board. On behalf of the board and management, I welcome each and every one of you to the meeting. Today's meeting is being webcast live for all users.
In light of the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 alert level that would be in place in various parts of New Zealand at this time, we made the decision a few weeks ago to hold a virtual only annual shareholders meeting, as we did last year. Thank you again for your participation and understanding as we continue to face into these challenges. You will be asked to vote and able to vote during the meeting. Please refer to the annual meeting's online portal guide for virtual meetings, which is available on the NZX and on our Investor Center website for specific instructions. If during the course of the meeting you need any further assistance, please call the Link Market Services helpline on the 0800 number highlighted on this slide.
Before our formal proceedings begin today, I would like to introduce you to my fellow Air New Zealand board members and welcome our three newest directors to their first Air New Zealand annual shareholders meeting. Joining us all virtually today, we have our board, Dean Bracewell, Laurissa Cooney, Larry De Shon, Jonathan Mason, Jan Dawson, Rob Jager, and Linda Jenkinson. Claudia Batten, Alison Gerry, and Paul Goulter are our newest appointments to the board and will officially join following shareholder approval today. You will hear from all three of our new directors later on in the meeting when we move to the resolutions. I would like to acknowledge the entire board for their additional workloads and commitment to the airline through this difficult time and for all the support they have provided.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Rob Jager and Linda Jenkinson, our long-serving directors who are retiring at this meeting. We've appreciated their insights and guidance, which have helped shape the airline over the years and supported us through the significant impact of COVID-19 over the past 18 months. In particular, I want to acknowledge the significant leadership that Rob has shown in shaping the work program of our Board's Health, Safety & Security Committee. We have been extremely fortunate to have him in this role. I also want to acknowledge the invaluable global perspectives and technology insights that Linda, as the founder of many businesses, has brought to the table at Air New Zealand. They will both be sorely missed.
Finally, a very special thanks to Jan, our Deputy Chairman, who agreed last year to continue in her position following the onset of COVID-19, providing us with consistency as a board while we navigated our way through this unprecedented time for the airline. In addition to being our Deputy Chairman, Jan has chaired the airline's Audit and Risk Committee for seven years. Her wisdom, her experience, her advice have been invaluable to me, the board, and the executive, and I want to thank her for an exceptional contribution to this airline. Also joining us virtually today, we have Greg Foran, the company's Chief Executive Officer, Richard Thomson, the company's Chief Financial Officer, our General Counsel and Company Secretary, Jennifer Page, James Gibson from Bell Gully, the company's lawyers, and Melissa Collier and Peter Gulliver from Deloitte, the company's auditors, here on behalf of the Auditor General.
We also have several other members of the executive team and our share registrar, Link Market Services, present today. Before we move on to the more formal proceedings, I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge the incredibly difficult environment that the Air New Zealand whanau has been operating in over the past year and continues to operate in today. This is a dilemma like none other in the aviation industry's history. The ever-evolving situation, alert level, border changes, as well as health and safety requirements constantly shifting, has meant Air New Zealand and Air New Zealanders across the business have needed to adapt quickly and react to whatever comes our way. It has and continues to be a truly difficult situation. On behalf of myself and the board, we want to pay tribute to every single member of the team for their efforts.
We truly value everything you do, and we are grateful for your efforts to keep this airline flying, to keep our country connected, and our customers taken care of. Now for the formalities of the meeting. I note, based on the information conveyed to me, that there is a quorum of shareholders present online, and therefore this meeting is duly convened. Notice of the meeting was circulated to all shareholders, and I will therefore take it as read. We will turn to the resolutions later in the meeting. Please note at this time that only shareholders, proxy holders or shareholder company representatives may vote. The order of events for today's meeting will be as follows. I will discuss the company's performance for the 2021 financial year and the outlook going forward.
Following my address, we will hear from Greg Foran, our CEO, who will discuss the near-term challenges and opportunities the airline faces, as well as strategic areas of focus for the future. After that update, you will have an opportunity to ask questions related to the 2021 financial performance specifically. I will then move to the three formal resolutions contained in the notice of meeting. We will address questions after each resolution is proposed. You can submit a question by using the Ask a Question function on slide three. Voting on the resolutions will be conducted by way of poll, and this year, given the virtual-only platform, you will be able to cast your vote using the electronic voting card you received when you validated your registration using your shareholder number. Voting is open from the commencement of this meeting, so you can vote at any stage.
Specific time has also been allocated for voting later on in the meeting. If you have any issues, please refer to the virtual annual meeting online portal guide that can be found under the Downloads section of the virtual meeting platform. Following the voting, I will open the floor to any general questions you may have. We have already received some questions from shareholders prior to the meeting, and we will address those during that session. Moving on to the 2021 financial summary. While 2021 has continued to be a year of ongoing uncertainty and operational agility, it has also highlighted the tireless efforts, skill, and sheer determination of our people, the executive team, and other stakeholders to keep our customers connected and traveling safely.
Teams from across the business have responded quickly to ever-changing operational conditions, introducing new cargo routes, increasing capacity on our domestic network to near pre-COVID levels, and implementing the necessary protocols to launch our first short-haul international travel bubbles. These milestones were hugely important for providing us with small but much-needed steps towards some form of normality. Even with the current ongoing lockdown situation in Auckland and the continued suspension of the Trans-Tasman and Cook Islands travel bubbles, our customers have been patient and supportive. On behalf of the board, I want to thank all our customers and stakeholders for their continued support of our airline. We wouldn't be here without your support, and we do not take it for granted. The result for the 2021 financial year reflects the full year impact of COVID-19 on our airline.
We reported operating revenue of NZD 2.5 billion, a decrease of 48% compared with the prior year, and our overall result was a loss before other significant items and taxation of NZD 440 million. When including other significant items of NZD 29 million, which covers foreign exchange gains and sale of landing slots, offset by aircraft impairment charges and reorganization costs, we reported a loss after taxation of NZD 411 million. Our short-term cash position was NZD 266 million as at 30 June 2021. We have drawn down NZD 455 million of the Crown Standby Loan Facility, leaving NZD 1.045 billion remaining. I will give an update on our cash and liquidity position later on in today's meeting. The board continues to focus on preserving the airline's liquidity position.
Given the ongoing uncertainty and continuing financial pressures due to COVID-19, we have not paid a dividend to our shareholders for the second year running. These financial results do not reflect the enormous efforts that have taken place across the airline to support New Zealand. I am extremely proud that Air New Zealand continues to play an essential role in reinvigorating this country's economy and to keep New Zealand connected to the rest of the world. Moving on, the graph on this slide paints an incredibly important picture of just how much of an impact COVID-19 has had on Air New Zealand's network and overall performance in the 2021 financial year.
It shows that while the domestic network has been the backbone of our operations in the past financial year, exceeding our expectations last year, passenger revenue at around NZD 1.5 billion is only 30% of pre-COVID-19 levels. This is clearly a significant decline. Prior to COVID-19, our domestic business represented around a third of our overall revenue base, and around 20% of that was driven by inbound tourists traveling on the domestic network. Without international passengers flying, there continues to be a significant gap in our earnings. While we have been fortunate to maintain a degree of international flying, which has been strongly supported by the government's Maintaining International Air Connectivity scheme. In 2021, we still only flew around 55% of the network we operated prior to COVID-19.
We are very pleased to see further progress being made both here in New Zealand and globally with the rollout of the vaccine. The government's plan to have the majority of Kiwis vaccinated by the end of the year should put the country in a strong position. We have an outstanding rate of vaccination among Air New Zealanders, with 93% of our frontline employees now having had at least one vaccine and 88% who are fully vaccinated. We are very much looking forward to international borders reopening and hope that if vaccination levels continue to increase, we will see some very positive developments during 2022. Whenever international borders open, we are confident that when demand returns, Air New Zealand will be well-positioned to succeed.
As mentioned, despite the ongoing challenges of the past 12 months, the domestic network has been the major contributor to our operating revenues. In the 2021 financial year, domestic flying was strong and relatively stable as Kiwis embraced exploring the wonderful sights New Zealand has to offer. Prior to the latest outbreak and lockdown this August, domestic capacity had been tracking in excess of 90% of pre-COVID levels. Leisure demand was up 130% in May, June and July compared to pre-COVID levels, and we had seen strong performance on our regional routes. With routes such as Tauranga to Christchurch and Hamilton to Christchurch performing well above pre-COVID levels, along with New Plymouth, Kerikeri and Invercargill. Prior to the recent lockdown, we also saw corporate customers return to the skies in high volumes at around 90% of 2019 levels.
Now, this was a huge milestone for the airline, given that there was a view taken by many that this much valued customer segment may not return to pre-COVID levels of travel. Going forward, we will be further focused on unlocking that demand and making the regions even more accessible for customers as part of our domestic network strategy. Core to unlocking this demand is increased flight frequency, better connections and reasonable fares, which is expected to eventually result in capacity increases of over 110% in those markets compared to pre-COVID levels. The other crucial source of revenue this year was our cargo business, delivering NZD 769 million, which is an increase of 71% on 2020. This growth is primarily due to the government air freight support schemes through both the New Zealand and Australian governments.
Additional flying and cargo-only charter flights not included under the support schemes also contributed to revenue. It has been great to maintain important links to keep New Zealand exporters connected to their international trade partners, delivering everything from chilled meats and seafoods to stone fruit, berries and dairy products across the globe. Critically, these flights also enabled us to carry vital medical supplies and PPE into New Zealand and supported the repatriation of around 100,000 Kiwis. While the Trans-Tasman bubble is closed, we are still flying an average of 50 flights per week to 16 destinations, including Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Australia and key Pacific ports. From November, this will increase to 65 flights per week for the summer period. It is fantastic to be able to keep New Zealand connected to the world.
Through the pandemic, we have proven time and time again that Air New Zealand has an agile strategy that allows us to respond quickly to ever-changing situations. For example, within hours of the New Zealand Government announcing the opening of the Trans-Tasman and Cook Island bubbles, we had our schedules confirmed and seats for sale instantly. We saw strong immediate bookings on the Tasman of around 90% of pre-COVID levels in the first week, and we were able to bring back more than 220 cabin crew and pilots to support these routes. Likewise, this ability has enabled us to rapidly initiate cargo flights to Guangzhou, a destination we have never flown to before. It also allowed us to respond efficiently to the recent suspension of the Trans-Tasman bubble, so our customers had greater certainty over their future travel plans.
It has meant we were able to swiftly and safely get Kiwis back home when the government instituted a strict nationwide level four lockdown in August. While external uncertainties continue to be frustrating, we are focused on controlling those things that we can, making sure our domestic offering is even more attractive to our customers, having the infrastructure and resources in place to respond rapidly when that demand increases, and maintaining the cost reductions we have already made. We also have new optimized international network schedules we can put in place as soon as borders open. Our team is in continuous contact with the government and international authorities to monitor travel guidance and engaging with the relevant stakeholders on border requirements both in New Zealand and abroad.
We have also worked closely with the government to improve conditions for our people in terms of regular testing and time in isolation. Since we announced the annual financial results in August, we've incrementally drawn down an additional NZD 105 million of the Crown Standby Loan Facility, bringing total drawings to NZD 455 million. This leaves us with just over NZD 1 billion of available liquidity, in addition to NZD 211 million cash on hand as at October 26. As announced on 13 August 2021, our board, in consultation with the Crown, made the decision to defer its planned capital raise from 30 September 2021 until the first quarter of calendar year 2022.
This followed the receipt of a letter from the Minister of Finance on 12 August 2021, outlining his view that the environment was not sufficiently certain and stable to enable the Crown to provide a firm pre-commitment to support the planned equity raise. Despite this delay, it is important to note that the Minister of Finance reiterated in his letter the government's long-standing commitment to maintaining its majority shareholding. Subject to Cabinet being satisfied with the terms of the company's proposed capital raise at the relevant future time, the Crown confirmed in that letter that it will participate in an equity capital raise by purchasing the number of new shares necessary to maintain a majority shareholding. The ongoing uncertainty regarding domestic COVID alert levels means future cash burn is very difficult to forecast. That is why we have suspended cash burn guidance.
While we are pleased to see good demand for domestic air travel in regions that are in alert level 2, this represents approximately 40% of the domestic network. That flying, combined with the extension of government-supported cargo flying through the MIAC scheme from November through to the end of March 2022, is positive but insufficient by itself to cover our cash requirements. In particular, near-term fleet deliveries and the repayment of deferred PAYE payments. We do expect to draw down further on the Crown Standby Loan Facility to temporarily fund the delivery of two new narrow-body jet aircraft and one turboprop aircraft, which are expected to arrive in the next few weeks. The delivery of these aircraft had been delayed as part of negotiations to push out capital expenditure at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, from January through March 2022, the airline will repay approximately NZD 300 million in deferred PAYE to the IRD, and it is not possible to extend these repayments further. Therefore, if there were to be no significant changes to current domestic and international travel restrictions, and based on the impact on our business as we have outlined to the market, we could have around NZD 600 million-NZD 650 million drawn under the Crown Standby Loan Facility by December. Extrapolating this further, and again assuming no significant changes from the current situation, drawdowns could be approximately NZD 900 million by the end of February 2022, including two of three repayments of deferred PAYE being made. Now, shifting from cash to earnings, and I would again reiterate the volatile environment under which we are operating.
Given uncertainty surrounding the current national COVID alert levels, ongoing international travel restrictions, and uncertainty regarding the level of demand as these restrictions lift, we have suspended 2022 earnings guidance. I'd like to say thank you to you, our shareholders, for your continued support of Air New Zealand and your patience as we continue to navigate these uncharted waters. While the near-term situation is uncertain, I am extremely hopeful as we observe our population making great strides in terms of vaccination rates, which is critical to reconnecting New Zealanders with the world. Our aim is to return our customers to the skies and provide them with new and enhanced offerings, both domestically and when international borders eventually reopen.
While we have been navigating the immediate obstacle course that is COVID, we've also been laser-focused on the future and how we will build our airline back better than ever for our customers, our people, our country, and for you, our shareholders. The board would like to acknowledge the lack of financial return for our shareholders, but we also want to assure you that we are using this opportunity to further critique our cost base and roll out an exciting new strategy. We aim to be a more cost-effective and more innovative airline than ever before, and we look forward to sharing those rewards with you in the future. We thank you for standing by us through this extremely difficult time. Finally, I would like to acknowledge our Chief Executive, Greg Foran, for his leadership, his perseverance, and his tenacity.
He has not wavered in his commitment to the airline, even in the face of so much volatility and adversity. I commend him for the job that he has done and for his strategic insights as we prepare for the future. On that note, I will now invite Greg to address the meeting and detail those insights for you. Greg.
Thank you, Dame Therese Walsh.
[Non-English content ] and good afternoon, everyone. You know, in a year where we saw bubbles open and close, and as we continue to face uncertainty around travel, the aroha from our customers and ongoing support of our shareholders is deeply appreciated. I want to say a great big thank you to you all. It's been a powerful team effort. 2021 has been uncertain
Volatile and complex, and frankly, it continues to be so. Remarkably, we've managed to keep our planes flying every single day, moving customers and moving freight. Through this, we've maintained a strong cost discipline and developed new capabilities which will allow us to build back even better when the borders reopen and domestic restrictions ease. While it's been tough, we know that we will come out of this stronger than ever. I'm acutely aware of the many sacrifices Air New Zealanders continue to make. You know, from our pilots and cabin crew who've endured the complexity and inconvenience of constantly changing international border requirements, to our contact center team who took an incredible 75,000 calls in just a single day.
From those who took pay cuts and also the teams that worked hard to deliver essential export services, to the operations teams who've changed schedules on a dime, and our medical staff who kept our people safe. To those that have worked remotely right throughout our business. All Air New Zealanders continue to do remarkable things in extraordinary times, and I can't thank them enough. That's why it was so important to the board and executive to recognize their mahi with a NZD 1000 share award. You know, I look forward to a time when this crisis passes and we no longer need to ask so much of our people. There have been gains from their efforts, and we are determined to hold on to them all as we build back our operations. Our ability to adapt to change has now become a powerful muscle.
We can respond rapidly to short-notice changes, innovate at speed, and drive productivity all in parallel, and that puts us in good stead for when borders reopen. We've drawn strength from our purpose, which is to connect New Zealanders with each other and New Zealand with the world. Our promise of Manaaki will be more important than ever if we're to differentiate our service and retain our talented Air New Zealanders. The values that drive us, be yourself, can do, share your Aotearoa, welcome as a friend, have been relaunched and remain as relevant as ever. Together, they drive us to deliver the greatest flying experience on Earth. I'm often asked what it's been like to lead Air New Zealand. Well, on the day I took the job, we were withdrawing our first international services in response to the pandemic.
We made the difficult call to reduce our workforce by a third. We made other significant structural changes to reduce costs. We've closed, opened, and then even paused parts of our network while progressing towards a capital raise. Guided by our strategy, we plan to progress from survive to revive and then thrive, only to find the journey was not a one-way door. As the most recent lockdowns have shown, we're not out of this yet. I describe it as navigating one of the most volatile situations you could imagine. Despite the challenges, we've made the most of the opportunities we've been given, and I'd like to take you through some of those now. When we start flying again, we'll do so at a lower cost. That is a powerful foundation for the future. Although the pandemic reduced our ability to fly, time's not been wasted.
You know, we've reinvented our domestic food service on the ground and in the air, engaging directly with customers. We improved the service for our most important cargo, unaccompanied minors. We capped fares, reduced late fees, introduced a compassionate fare scheme, simplified our fare structure, reduced our excess bag fees, extended Koru Club membership and status, and relaunched an improved FastBag product. Thanks to the incredible work across our organization and the support of the government's cargo subsidy scheme, we help keep New Zealand connected to key export markets and grew cargo revenue. We were pleased recently to be awarded an extension to that agreement through to March next year. We continue to bring the benefits of digital to our operation. Our turboprop pilots and cabin crew are now equipped with tablets, and we converted legacy systems in engineering and maintenance.
We added more world-leading features to our online credit tool, enhanced our data security, improved mid-office systems, and have commenced many game-changing programs of work that'll come to fruition soon. We also continue to confront and drive sustainability. We work closely with government to set a pathway to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, and are leading discussion on the role of electric, hybrid, and green hydrogen aircraft. Internationally, we see sustainable aviation fuels as the only current option to decarbonize long-haul flights, and we continue to advocate for policy change in that area. You know, we start every day by asking, "Are we staying safe?" Recently, given the arrival of the Delta variant of COVID-19, we reviewed the risks involved in operating international and domestic flights.
We work closely with our people and our unions to inform them about vaccinations, requiring a wider section of the team to be vaccinated to keep themselves, their workmates, and our customers as safe as possible. We also announced that from February, all customers traveling internationally with Air New Zealand will need to be fully vaccinated. Despite the volatility, we've stayed focused on Kia Mau, our strategy, which will guide us through COVID and beyond. We developed this in 2020, and now we've enhanced it further. We're going to deliver in three key revenue areas, made possible by driving the business to deliver on four programs that in turn enable their success. Now, this plan is simple, concise, and exciting. Our organization is redesigning the way we work to deliver the strategy at speed and with precision. It must be a full potential transformation.
Now, the first revenue area is our domestic business. This is our core. You know, in the last financial year, it remained strong during COVID. It recovers quickly after lockdown and provides a strong foil to the fluctuations of international travel. It's also the heart of our profitability. Changes that had begun before COVID have been accelerated. In recent years, we've moved from smaller Beechcraft to Q300s and even larger ATR 72-600s, and each time our customers have taken up the new capacity. There's the opportunity to fly new routes and to fly more often by scheduling at different times of the day and adapting our service to the changing nature of work. You know, I believe Air New Zealand can help make the life-changing decision to move out of our largest cities a success for our customers and their families while also growing our business.
All of this gives me confidence about the return of business travel and the resilience of leisure travel, which rebounded quickly after the last lockdown. The improvements made last year to our customer proposition are an exciting start. We are very clear that part of our business will see more growth. The second area is our international business. When borders reopen, the market will be different, and we'll need to play the game our way. We are clear about where we intend to fly and how we will do so. We've rationalized our international fleet, and within years, we'll have a single fleet of 787s, which provides significant cost advantages. We'll focus on increased frequency on single sectors over water, where we connect to our partners via global hubs.
We have a strength in the premium leisure market, especially in North America, which opens its borders on November 8. We have a head start because our cargo flights have kept our international connections warm. We're planning for New York, and you know as we see demand, we'll bring back Chicago and Houston, along with the other international destinations that make up the Air New Zealand network. Finally, from our top-secret bunker in Auckland, we're putting the finishing touches on a new plane fit-out that I'm sure you'll absolutely love. It's incredibly exciting. The third area, loyalty, is playing an increasing role in airlines globally. Our excellent Airpoints program is an untapped source of new revenue and a superb channel to highlight the benefits Air New Zealand offers over competitors.
We're redesigning our program, refocusing and enhancing Airpoints to increase engagement with customers, and having completed this review to understand what really matters to our 3.6 million + Airpoints members. We're expanding our partnerships to introduce new and improved benefits, such as better upgrades, greater personalized service, and increased ability to share benefits among family and friends. This includes new partners, more options to spend points, and other exciting opportunities. Now, to deliver these three key revenue areas, we're focused on four initiatives. The first is what we call the brilliant basics, and it's about doing 100 things 1% better every day, so we run the airline like a Swiss watch. Now opportunities abound right across our business, and we are systematically going after them. Customers tell us three very important things.
They want us to leave on time, arrive on time, and don't lose anything in between. We wanna be the very best at this, and there's no reason why we can't. The second area is sustainability, and it's especially important for an airline at the bottom of the world. You know, although flying has reduced due to the pandemic, customer concern over its environmental impact remains as strong as ever. 2050 is not that far away, just 28 years, so we'll be driving for urgent innovation in aircraft and fuel sources. These are the key areas for us to address to make net zero emissions a reality for Air New Zealand. Thirdly, we aim to be the best digital airline in the world.
That means investing in innovations that benefit our customers and staff from the moment they start planning their trip to when they exit the aircraft or from the moment we start maintenance to when the cargo door is closed. We're making exciting changes that deliver cumulative benefits. We'll soon have Flightkeys, a new way to route an aircraft that saves time and money and reduces carbon emissions further. We have a new partnership with a company called FLYR, utilizing machine learning technology to ensure we can offer as many low fares as possible. We've got a full plate for this year as we complete work on a new crewing system, develop data and analytics capabilities, and commence in earnest on our new loyalty platform, among others. Finally, but critically, our people have proved time and time again to be the secret sauce in our success.
The quality of our experience has and always will be underpinned by the warm kia ora our customers receive as they board. From recruitment to training, tools to assist to regular feedback, we have an unrelenting focus on creating a satisfying and engaging work environment for our people, and we're determined to keep them, their families, and our customers safe. Thank you again for your continued support over the past 12 months. That means a great deal to the executive and all Air New Zealanders. We will be an airline that is more efficient. We will deliver an improved performance via a simplified fleet, world-leading digital capabilities, and a new way of working, leading to delivering the greatest flying experience on Earth.
The difficult decisions we've made in the past year and a half were painful, but position us well to make Air New Zealand even more profitable in the future. We are preparing to reunite loved ones, reconnect businesses, and take the best of New Zealand to the world. I'm very excited about traveling again, and I am sure many of you are, too. You know, in the months ahead, you'll hear more from us around how we're getting ready for takeoff. I'll leave you with this [Non-English content], which sums up the optimism Air New Zealand is feeling at the moment. [Non-English content ]. Our success is made from our collective contributions. [Non-English content ]. I will hand the meeting back to Dame Therese. Thank you.
[Non-English content] . Thank you, Greg. I now open the meeting to any questions you may have that specifically pertain to the company's 2021 performance. Just a reminder that any general questions you may have will be addressed towards the end of the meeting. All questions will be submitted online this year, and our investor relations team will read these out for myself, Greg, and the board to answer. Can I ask, are there any questions specifically on the 2021 financial results that shareholders would like to raise?
There are no questions on 2021 financial performance at this time.
Okay. No. No questions have been received. Thank you very much. Let's now move on to the formal resolutions of the meeting. The resolutions for consideration today may only be voted on by shareholders, proxy holders, and shareholder company representatives. We have three resolutions to be voted on today relating to the election of three new directors, Claudia Batten, Alison Gerry, and Paul Goulter. Claudia brings a wealth of digital expertise, having co-founded Victors & Spoils, the world's first advertising agency built on crowdsourcing, and the gaming advertising network, Massive Incorporated. She has won many awards for her work supporting the New Zealand technology sector, and I know we will tap into her vast experience as we look to become the world's leading digital airline. Alison has an incredibly strong background in governance, capital management, audit and risk.
She will be taking over from Jan Dawson as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing her leadership in this space. Paul has worked closely with unions both in New Zealand and Australia over the past 40 years, including time as Secretary of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions and as General Secretary of Finsec. We welcome his expertise and extensive knowledge in this space as we support the airline in our continued journey to build trusted and inclusive relationships with our people and our unions. Air New Zealand's constitution requires directors that are appointed by the board since the last annual shareholder meeting be retired and reelected at the next meeting if applicable. In this case, all three will be officially voted on today. As already mentioned, voting on all the resolutions will be conducted today by poll.
Shareholders will be able to cast their vote using the electronic voting card received when online registration is validated. To vote, you will need to click Get Voting Card within the online meeting platform. You will be asked to enter your shareholder or proxy number to validate. Please then mark your voting card in the way you wish to vote by clicking For, Against, or Abstain on the voting card. Once you have made your selection, please click Submit Vote on the bottom of the card to lodge your vote. The company secretary holds a record of the valid proxies and postal votes received. Before I put the resolutions to the meeting, you can see the results of the voting directions given to proxies and the postal votes at the bottom of the slide for transparency.
We will discuss and vote on each resolution in turn, and Link Market Services will tally the votes at the end of the meeting. A reminder of where to find the voting form if you have not already done so. I now turn to the election of Claudia Batten as a director. Claudia's award-winning digital expertise stems from having co-founded two digital innovation companies. She is the current digital advisor to the Westpac New Zealand board, is the chair of Serco and a director of Vista Group. Further credentials of Claudia Batten are detailed in the notice of meeting. I now invite Claudia to share her comments in relation to her election.
[Non-English content ]. Hi, I'm Claudia Batten. I was born in New Zealand and recently returned home after 20 years in the United States. During my time in the U.S., I was part of 2 phenomenal startup journeys in the U.S. The first was Massive Incorporated, where we pioneered the digital media buy in video games, creating the first network for real-time advertising in video games. We were sold to Microsoft in 2006. My second startup was Victors & Spoils. This was an advertising agency built on the principles of crowdsourcing. Instead of hiring full-time creatives and strategists, we connected to global talent and used them as we needed to respond to our clients' marketing needs. We sold Victors & Spoils to the global holding company, Havas, in 2012.
My passion is growing businesses, and in recent years, that's shifted from growing my own entrepreneurial ventures to growing New Zealand companies internationally. I've been a very active mentor, advisor, and director of countless startups. Taking my learnings from being a founder and combining them with my love of business has made for a potent skill set to share with other companies. I am currently the chair of Serko Limited, which is a New Zealand and ASX-listed company. I also recently joined the board of Vista, a New Zealand-founded cinema software company, and I am the digital advisor to the board of Westpac New Zealand. Excellence in strategy, innovation, and execution is my bread and butter. This requires a company to both be razor-focused on its destination and equally focused on developing and cultivating its talent. People are the beating heart of a great company.
As a director, I care about results, but I care even more about results that are delivered through world-class systems, processes, and thinking. Great results delivered from great people and process create an enduring company that can weather any storm. We need that now more than ever. I bring to the Air New Zealand board a depth of commercial skills, marketing, and digital delivery capability, and a firm eye on future thinking. I also like to think I bring a lot of passion, heart, and determination. This is an incredible company that New Zealanders care deeply about. I look forward to being of service and supporting the next stage of Air New Zealand's incredible journey. Thank you.
[Non-English content] , Claudia. Thank you so much. I now move for the meeting that Claudia Batten is elected as a director of the company. Have we received any questions from shareholders on the resolution?
There are no questions on this resolution.
Thank you. No questions have been received. If you could please now submit your vote on your electronic voting form under Resolution one. To elect Claudia Batten, please select either for, against, or abstain. Thank you. I now turn to the election of Alison Gerry as a director. Alison has an incredibly strong background in governance, capital management, audit, and risk from her time as a director of Spark, TVNZ, Kiwibank, and her current directorships with ANZ Bank, Sharesies, Infratil, and Suncorp. Further credentials of Alison Gerry are detailed in the notice of meeting. I will now invite Alison to give you her comments in relation to her election.
[Non-English content] . Good afternoon, everyone. It is a real pleasure to be here today at my first annual shareholder meeting. I put myself forward for election to the board on the basis that I can make a positive contribution to Air New Zealand. I feel I have the relevant skills, appropriate experience, and importantly, the capacity to help Air New Zealand achieve its many goals and objectives. In terms of my executive experience, I've worked in finance, treasury, and risk management roles for corporates and financial institutions, primarily in Asia and Australia, for close to 20 years. My last executive role was at Lion as group treasurer based in Sydney, looking after the capital structure, treasury, liquidity, and funding risks for the Australian, China, and New Zealand businesses. I've also been a visiting fellow at Macquarie University, teaching on their Master of Applied Finance program for 12 years.
I think these skills will stand me in good stead, particularly in my planned new role as chair of the Audit and Risk Committee. I moved into a governance career in 2007, and after spending many years living overseas, my husband and I decided we wanted to move back to New Zealand to ensure our two children grew up as Kiwis. On the way home, someone asked me to put my name forward for consideration to join the Kiwibank board. I started at Kiwibank in the middle of the GFC, which now feels a lot like this difficult COVID-19 environment. My career move into governance wasn't necessarily planned, but it's proved to be incredibly rewarding, and I've been a director of a number of fantastic New Zealand companies, including Spark, Queenstown, and Wellington Airports.
Currently, I'm a Director of ANZ Bank, Infratil, Sharesies, and Suncorp, although I do plan to come off one board commitment early next year to ensure I have ample capacity for my Air New Zealand role. Some of my friends and colleagues have asked me why I'm interested in joining the Air New Zealand board, given the uncertain and challenging environment we face. For me, the most important thing when deciding whether to accept a role around the board table is whether the company's purpose resonates with me, and the company is committed to making a positive difference to New Zealand and to New Zealanders.
Given that I live near Arrowtown in the South Island, fly regularly to visit my parents in Whangarei, where I grew up, have two children who live in Sydney, and a husband who runs one of New Zealand's largest avocado orchards north of Kaitaia, it is very easy for me to be passionate about Air New Zealand's purpose of connecting New Zealanders with each other and New Zealand with the world. Over the last 18 months, I've seen firsthand the challenges my husband has had trying to export fruit to Australia and throughout Asia, and this has reinforced to me how important Air New Zealand is in keeping our export industries functioning. I humbly seek your support for my election to the Air New Zealand Board. I'm up for the challenge ahead and am committed to work hard on your behalf.
[Non-English content] . Thank you, Alison. I now move that Alison Gerry is elected as a director of the company. Can I ask, have we received any questions from shareholders in relation to that resolution?
There are no questions on this resolution.
Thank you. No questions have been received. If you could please now submit your vote on your electronic voting form under Resolution Two. To elect Alison Gerry, please select either For, Against, or Abstain. Thank you. I now turn to the election of Paul Goulter as a director. Paul's union relationships are second to none, and his 40+ years experience includes Secretary of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions and as General Secretary of Finsec. He is currently National Secretary for New Zealand's largest education union, NZEI Te Riu Roa, and a director of the Co-operative Bank. Further credentials of Paul Goulter are detailed in the notice of meeting, and I now invite Paul to give his comments in relation to his election.
[Non-English content] . My name is Paul Goulter, and I'm standing for the first time for election as a Director of the Air New Zealand Board. To me, it's a privilege to be able to stand for election as a director of such an iconic New Zealand company as Air New Zealand. As a nation's airline, Air New Zealand plays such a big role in all of our lives in all sorts of ways.
I'm pleased to stand for election to a board that has embraced that centrality of Air New Zealand to our futures and which is totally committed to its continuance as a strategic asset, an airline which is financially sound, and most importantly, an airline that is forward-facing, taking on the opportunities and challenges presented by COVID, by climate change, by digital, by competition, all against a backdrop of continued economic uncertainty. My current role is National Secretary of NZEI Te Riu Roa, the union for teachers, principals, and support staff in primary and in early childhood education. I've been in that role for 12 years, and prior to that, have worked in unions in both Australia, New Zealand, and globally. My experience in these roles consistently reminds me of the importance of employees to the success of employers, both in the private and public sector.
It is most heartening that Air New Zealand has taken up its role as an exemplar employer in New Zealand, an employer that is committed to working with its staff in a strategic fashion to build the airline of the future. In my experience as a director of the Co-operative Bank, I've consistently found that what really makes the difference is the staff and their commitment to their customers. On a far grander scale, I find that same commitment across the staff of Air New Zealand, even during the difficult early days of the COVID lockdowns. To me, these are the building blocks upon which the success of Air New Zealand will be ensured. The confidence and social capital that is being created provides management and the board with real opportunities to build that successful airline of the future.
I look forward to being part of that journey to that success. Thank you, and kia ora.
[Non-English content] . I move that Paul Goulter is elected as a director of the company. Can I ask, have we received any questions from shareholders in relation to that resolution?
There are no questions on that resolution.
Thank you. There are no questions on the resolution. If you could please now submit your vote on your electronic voting form under Resolution three to elect Paul Goulter, please select either For, Against, or Abstain. Thank you. Shareholders should now submit their votes for all three resolutions virtually. Voting will be open until the close of the meeting, and the results will be announced to the NZX and ASX after the conclusion of the meeting. We will now take a brief moment to allow shareholders to cast their remaining votes.
Maaa! Who's ready to dust off our passports? Dad, I've got them. To see our friends in person? Whoa. Who's ready to finally get that first cuddle with new whānau, even if they're walking by now? Who's ready to lose ourselves in nature or foreign cities? Who's ready to jam-pack every single day or organize it perfectly so you can just hang out by the pool?
Who's ready to get our businesses off the ground and take them where they need to go? Who's ready to wake up in a different time zone? Who's ready for all that and everything else we've missed? In fact, who's not? Let's get there together, Aotearoa, by getting vaccinated, masking up, scanning in, and doing the mahi. Because we've all got somewhere to go and someone to see. Next to me. I'd be even higher.
Thank you. I call the meeting back to order. I would now like to open up today's meeting to any other general questions you may have. Can I please ask that we use this time to focus on questions relating to matters that are relevant to the airline overall. If you have any customer-related matters that you would like to address, please direct these comments to our investor relations team, and they'll be happy to help. While we wait for some questions to come through from online participants, I will address some of the questions we received prior to the meeting. The first question is: will the management team still continue to draw their huge salaries while at the same time giving nothing to shareholders? Thank you for the question.
As per my opening address, I would like to reiterate that we acknowledge the lack of financial return to our shareholders, and we are doing everything we can to ensure that that is rectified in the future. In terms of the leadership of Air New Zealand, a number of measures have been taken since the onset of COVID. There have been decreases in base salary for the Chief Executive and a number of executives through to the end of the 2021 financial year. No STIs or LTIs, being short-term or long-term incentives, have been payable within that period also.
I think it is also important as we gear up for the future and a 2022 that we all hope is brighter, that we have a stable and extremely competent and able executive and leadership team in place at Air New Zealand. Therefore, we think in relation to those measures, that they are sufficient to have recognized the financial distress the company is under, but still allowed us to maintain and retain a leadership team that Air New Zealand needs now more than ever and into the future. Thank you. The second question that we've received is that in late September, Air New Zealand announced the number of routes and frequency for mid- to long-haul until the end of March.
If more countries open border, and open borders and the situation improves domestically, can we expect those frequencies to increase before that date? I think it is likely that in this session today that we receive a lot of questions around border opening dates, what Air New Zealand may know about that, and also what we are doing in response. I think the first thing to say is that, unfortunately, myself, Greg, the board, the leadership of Air New Zealand, we do not have a crystal ball, and we do not know when borders will open. The way we run the business is via scenarios, so that there are a number of different scenarios that could play out, and we remain operationally ready and agile for all of those scenarios.
In terms of international borders opening, we are preparing, we will be ready for when that occurs, but we do not know when it will occur. We simply hope New Zealand gets as vaccinated as possible, as quickly as possible, and that happens soon, at which point we will be ready to go. Okay, I think that's all in terms of the pre-questions that have been received. Now let's move on to live questions from the audience. Sarah, over to you.
The first question is: What strategies are in place to rebuild the share price back up to its 2019 levels?
Thank you for that question. I think, Greg did a great job of outlining the future strategy for Air New Zealand's Kia Mau, which has a number of different components to it, including re-envisaging our international and domestic propositions, our new fleet, our sustainability, digital initiatives, and the reinvigoration of our loyalty program. All of those things are about us being future-focused, ready to reap the rewards of our borders opening when that occurs. In due course, we would hope that that would impact our financial position, our financial performance, and in due course, the share price and dividends to shareholders. Thank you.
The next question: Why are you insisting only travelers with vaccination certificates can fly when it would be more effective to use rapid antigen testing prior to boarding?
I'll hand that question over to Greg to give a bit more detail on how our plan will roll out.
Yeah. Thank you, Therese. Look, the process that's in place at the moment, we've put in place a few weeks ago, and that is that we're requesting that passengers are fully vaccinated when they fly with us internationally. The situation will change as other testing becomes available, and since we made that announcement, we've seen the government already announce that rapid antigen tests will become available. When they do, then possibly we'll review some of the other opportunities. At this stage, our policy is that we'd be looking for people to be fully vaccinated when they get on one of our international flights from 1 February.
Thank you, Greg. Are there any further questions today?
Yes. The next question: Has any thought been given to converting COVID credits to Airpoints so that people only need to look in one location to see their overall balance?
Okay, thank you. As people will know, the credit solution was born out of the COVID situation that arose in 2020, and it's been an amazing tool that the team has put together. In fact, I think Greg will confirm this for me, but I think around 20% of our bookings are now happening through the online credit tool. I think in relation to Airpoints, we definitely prefer that the credits are used for flying, and that's probably the key issue in that regard. Greg, any further detail you'd like to provide on that question?
I think you've covered it, Therese, and you know, I'd rather actually that we weren't having to use all these credits, and when people booked, they could actually get on and fly. Our preference is, particularly because we feel that we're going to cease movement, obviously domestically, probably first before internationally, but we don't think that's too far away, so we want people to be able to get out there and do their first love, which of course is to fly.
Thank you, Greg. Sarah, back to you.
Can you please share the details of the health and safety risk assessment that was done before we elected to give vaccinations to air crew?
Thank you. There were a number of different things considered, but also quite extensive meetings, both at an executive level and at a health and safety committee level and at a board level in terms of our decision for that to occur. Greg, would you like to take us through a little more detail in that regard?
Thank you, Therese. Yes, this decision wasn't taken lightly. You know, we were down a path of roughly about 2,000 or so of our Air New Zealanders being vaccinated under the mandate that came from the government. Obviously, Delta changed the position and we then worked very closely with our medical team and used a science-based approach to assess the risk across the total organization. Worked closely with all our unions on that, whether it was pilots, [Non-English content] and went through a period of consultation, sharing with them how that science-based approach had been taken. Took extensive feedback from across the business, and that's led to a situation where just a few weeks ago, we've expanded our base of vaccinated Air New Zealanders to roughly about 6,000. It's not the entire company, but it is science-based.
It's based around those people who are serving customers who are essential to keeping the airline open. I'd say that I'm absolutely thrilled with the take-up. You shared some early statistics in your speech, Therese. By far and away, the majority of our Air New Zealanders now want to get vaccinated. There are still a handful who aren't. Some are waiting for an alternative vaccine. It will just be literally just a few who may not get vaccinated. Of course, we're working through to find alternative roles or potentially leave without pay. It's been a good process, science-based and well supported by the board and by the executive, but most importantly, by almost all our Air New Zealanders.
Thanks, Greg. Sarah, are there any further questions?
There are. The next question is: Having signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus, what role does Air New Zealand believe the use of green hydrogen will play in the airline's future and commitment to the environment?
Well, I think the answer to that, and again, I'll ask Greg to give some more detail, but I think the answer to that is a significant role. We, we're actually exploring as an airline all types of technology at the moment as it pertains to different ways, different types of aircraft and different ways of powering aircraft. We've actually, behind the scenes, been working on this for three or four years. We've now signed this particular MoU, but we are working with others as well to ensure that we have access to the latest technology, and we think that a bit of competitive pressure between all of the different players in these areas is actually very helpful.
We do see it as incredibly important to our future, and particularly when it pertains to our ATR and Q300 parts of our fleet. There are no plans for replacement of those with like for like yet until we see further development in this area. Greg.
Thank you, Therese, and you've covered some really key points there. You know, we're excited about the opportunity to be able to do something with our domestic network, and that's driven fundamentally around geography and the length of the routes that we fly. The assessment that we've done at the moment would indicate that a mixture of electric and potentially hybrid and then green hydrogen electric planes could actually be a solution for a lot of our regional flying, and in particular, be seen as a replacement for our Q300 fleet. We're working hard towards getting a solution in for that fleet, got over 20 Q300s before 2030.
The MoU with Airbus allows us to really dig in deep with Airbus over the next short period, share a lot of information with them in a way that you would not necessarily always do. That would obviously be a strong contender for a solution in terms of, you know, a green hydrogen electric plane. As you mentioned, Therese, there's other people that we continue to stay close to. I'm excited about potentially being an airline that could come up with a solution here, that deals with, quite a lot of our domestic network over the next sort of decade.
Yeah, a lot of focus in this area, and some people may recall we have a sustainability advisory panel as well, which meets regularly and in fact is meeting in the next couple of weeks and continues to challenge the board and executive around our plans in this space. It's a very exciting area that we're very focused on. Sarah, back to you for next question.
When international borders do open, will Air New Zealand consider a round-the-world service like it used to have 10 years ago?
Well, I think Greg made a number of comments during his speech about where our areas of focus will be, including North America, Pacific Rim, and areas where we have a competitive advantage and it makes sense for us to be flying. Based on that strategy as it rolls out, I wouldn't have thought that that was something that was in our immediate plans.
Next question. Has Air New Zealand considered any other business opportunities other than flying people and cargo, for example, a rideshare business?
There is a number of things that we're always thinking about in terms of our business, but obviously, we are focused on the core of our business. I think one of the things that is quite interesting in relation to that question is our loyalty business that Greg spoke about earlier today. There are a number of possibilities there as we look to extend the number of partners, the types of products and services that might be offered to our Airpoints loyalty members. Remembering we have a significant number of those, I think around 3.8 million. It is an absolute asset that we need to think about in terms of our strategic offering there.
There's a lot of thinking going in to that aspect of things, and I think that's where some of that thinking will tuck nicely into the future. Nothing specific to mention to you today.
The next question. There's several questions on our strategies and plans for when the borders do open and which countries we expect to be first.
Thank you. Well, I hope everyone noticed that Greg talked about New York, because I think we're all very excited to get to New York. It was actually a route that we were preparing for pre the onset of COVID. We keep that very firmly in our sights. As Greg has already mentioned, North America will play a key role, as will Asia, the Pacific Islands and Australia, which are really important parts of our network. Greg, would you like to add any more detail to that?
Thanks, Therese. In terms of sort of sequencing, much of that will be determined by whatever controls the government's going to put in terms of MIQ in from a particular country or particular region. For example, should there be less MIQ coming in from North America, then we'd try and get there pretty quickly. If Canada moved quickly, then we'd be straight back into Vancouver. That really determines the sequencing. You know, as you've already mentioned, Therese, we don't have that crystal ball. We stay close. You know, all we can do is run scenarios at this stage and remain ready and patient so that we can get going as soon as we can.
Thank you.
The next question. What is Air New Zealand's contingency plan to keep operating in the event of large-scale cancellation of medical certificates due to vaccine side effects?
Sarah, can you just repeat the question?
What is Air New Zealand's contingency plan to keep operating in the event of large-scale cancellation of medical certificates due to vaccine side effects?
Greg, I'll hand that question to you.
Thank you, Therese. You know, I guess one of the things that we've become quite good at over the last 600+ days is being able to adjust and pivot our network accordingly. You know, should something like that occur and, you know, you can't predict what may occur. What we do know is there's been billions of doses of vaccination around the world at the moment, and we've not seen that issue arise. Should it arise or even if another, you know, dare I say, variant occurs and we have to deal with it, then what we do is we adjust our networks accordingly and make sensible decisions based on the facts that we have at hand.
You know, I'm proud of the way that the Air New Zealand whānau have all, you know, worked together to come up with good solutions that allow commerce to continue to move, people to move where we can, and we just adjust accordingly.
Thanks, Greg. Sarah.
With the growth of cargo, why add two new narrow-body jet aircraft instead of a wide-body aircraft?
Well, we are actually doing both. Both of them have purposes beyond cargo and in relation to passengers. As we look to the restoration of our Pacific Islands and Trans-Tasman fleet routes as borders open there and bubbles open, and we look to the domestic network which we've spoken about at length today in terms of trying to maximize and optimize the demand in the domestic network as we have been. Those narrow-bodied aircraft are important, and that will complement and basically finalize our network for the short-haul international flying that we do. The wide-bodied aircraft are really important to us for a number of reasons, and we do have a number of seven eight seven aircraft that will be coming in our future.
The reason for that is, firstly, they create a lot of operating cost efficiencies for us, which is important if you think about where we are today. Most importantly, it's really significant in terms of our sustainability strand, and how we are leaning in as an airline to the challenge around sustainability. The average age of our fleet, it's just under seven years. It's one of the youngest fleet in the world, and we want to keep it that way. We are investing in these new aircraft to simplify our fleet and to ensure that, we can continue to meet our sustainability targets over time.
We will require all of those aircraft for passenger purposes as well as our cargo demand, which is absolutely, as you can tell from today's presentation, been growing throughout COVID. It will meet all of those needs. Thanks, Sarah.
Another cargo question: How are the facilities coping, and are we planning to increase those?
Greg, would you like to take that one?
Thank you, Therese. You know, most of our cargo is actually moved on the wide bodies as you spoke about. We do have domestic business. But these 14 787s that we've got going at the moment are doing a good job of getting cargo around the world. We are looking at the facilities that we have out at the airport at the moment. In fact, just last week, I spent time with the executive reviewing those facilities and looking at what potentially we can move towards over the next couple of years, and that would be a location near to where we are, and increasing the size of that facility and building the right automation in there, so that not only is it a great facility, but it's incredibly productive.
We see cargo as a really important part of our business moving forward, but predominantly it's about utilizing the space on the passenger planes. As borders open up, our primary objective is obviously passengers back on board. We've become incredibly efficient, and it's also very good from a sustainability perspective when you maximize out, if you like, the cube on that plane by not only having it full of passengers, but utilizing all the space in what we call the belly of the aircraft with cargo. You know, as we think about our wide-bodied fleet, we had 29 wide-bodied planes going into COVID. We've effectively, you know, reduced that down to 21 with the eight triple seven two hundreds they now have gone from the fleet.
You know, the triple sevens, which we've still got, three leased, four owned, they will gradually be replaced by a new 787, which gets us to the single fleet, the most fuel-efficient, the best from a sustainability perspective. That's going to allow us to run a really nice tight cargo operation in the belly of those planes. New facility to make more efficient at the airport. This is another part of the business that we wanna get to full potential, and we're excited about the opportunity.
Thanks, Greg. Sarah.
The next question: Is the company insensitive to customer needs and expectations, such as with the recent flight cancellations? What is being done to improve your image?
Thank you. I am going to ask, Greg to answer that question, except to say that we are incredibly focused on, customer feedback and customer happiness. The terminology that sits within our strategy and overarching objectives is an obsession with the customer. Greg and I spent some time yesterday discussing the recent media articles and, I will ask Greg now to fill in some of the detail around that and the overall approach.
Thanks, Therese. You're quite right. We are very obsessed with getting it right for the customer. You know, that's why we've made changes that we've made during the year, even though for a lot of the year we haven't been flying. You know, we've looked at what we wanna do in terms of the domestic food offer. We've changed how we deal with excess baggage and move unaccompanied minors. We've capped fares. We've reduced change fees. All of those things have been demonstrable changes that have said the customer is critical to Air New Zealand. You know, it's pretty tough in Air New Zealand when the advice that we receive is pretty much exactly what you receive in terms of what's going to happen, in terms of maybe Northland moving into level three or Waikato moving or Auckland staying.
When we received advice just the other day that Auckland would stay where it was through till the 29th of November, we made a decision then to make it very clear to those who were going to have flights booked, and many did. In fact, 170,000 customers had flights booked during that month of November. We wanted to be clear to those customers that those flights were not going to go ahead. That means you've got 171,000 customers that you've canceled, that you've got to get into credit, that if they then are having to fly, we've got to make sure that they don't get charged more. Clearly, it's a difficult process. We've been dealing with this now for over 600 days.
There's always ways that you can improve it, but I would say that generally, we get it reasonably right. Trust me, there are always opportunities for us to do it better. You know, as I shared with you, there are some days when the largest day, 75,000 calls through. Yesterday as I was tracking the call center right through the day and talking to the team there, most of the time they're dealing with 400+ calls. Now, we're actually putting in a new system that's going to be much better, and that'll be in place by about the middle of December. This has been tough on our team, tough on our customers.
Please be assured you are our number one priority, and we take a lot of care in trying to get this as right as we can in a very volatile situation.
Good summary. Thank you, Greg. Sarah, back to you for any other questions.
There are several questions about vaccine certificates and whether we are going to mandate 100% of Air New Zealanders being vaccinated.
Look, I think in terms of vaccinations, we have, as Greg said earlier, taken a science-based approach, and therefore we have required Air New Zealanders who have any sort of customer-facing role to be vaccinated, and that's going very, very well, and we hope to have that completed by the end of this year. Anything further than that at the moment, we have left on the table. Things change all the time, and we'll keep it under review, but we don't have any current plans in that regard.
Thanks, Sarah.
Have any Air New Zealanders received a vaccine other than the Pfizer vaccine?
Greg, I'll hand that one to you.
Thank you, Therese, and the answer to that is yes. We do have a group of pilots who happened to be conducting a cargo flight and decided that they would take an alternative vaccine when they were up in the United States. We've been okay with that and have discussed that with the Ministry of Health, and in due course, that vaccine will be likely accredited. We're also clear that the vaccine that has been nominated by the New Zealand government at this stage is the Pfizer vaccine.
Thank you.
The next-
Sarah.
Oh, sorry. The next question-
Yes.
Do we expect to see the Boeing 777-300ERs return in the new year?
Well, I think the answer to that is, we hope so. We'd like to see some of the Triple Seven 300s return to service, when international borders open, and we need some help alongside these seven eight sevens for our international flying network. However, again, going back to the first answer to the first question in this meeting, we don't have a crystal ball, and it is uncertain. You would like to think based on progress at the moment that that is a possibility for 2022, a real possibility.
The next question, what is the main strategy to increase 2022 revenue?
Well, we certainly hope we'll be doing a lot more flying both in New Zealand and around the world. I think that would be, that will be a real unlock to unlock the revenue equation going forward. There's also a lot of work happening in terms of, as Greg mentioned before, the customer proposition, both internationally and domestically, and it's about creating better customer propositions, ensuring our revenue is falling in the right places. I think there's a lot of focus on revenue at the moment. Some of it has already been playing out in our domestic network, and there are plans in terms of the international network. Look, I think the key to substantially impacting our revenue is to get those borders open and to get flying.
Therese
Yes.
Maybe just one point that I might add on top of that. You know, we've done a pretty good job of getting cost out of the business and holding that out of the business. What we saw during a period of particularly April through to June, when we had domestic flyng well, we had the Australian bubble open, we had Rarotonga coming on stream, is that this business can move pretty quickly into an improved and, you know, significantly better position. So I'm pretty confident that once we can start to get some planes in the air, and it doesn't have to be the entire world, off a better cost base, we can actually start generating some reasonably healthy returns, and it's our intention to do exactly that. That's how we're thinking about the business.
It's how our plans have been built, and I'm excited that, you know, this will occur. I think we can start to see that the end of COVID is coming.
Great. Thank you, Greg. Sarah, any further questions?
Yes. The next question is: Why are vaccine certificates not expected for domestic travel currently?
Currently that is not our policy that vaccination certificates are required for domestic travel. We've mandated obviously for international travel, as we've already discussed today. I think it would be fair to say that remains on the table and is under current discussion as to what, as to how views change in that regard, what our perspective is as things continue to change with COVID, with our country's response, with other countries' responses, with our own views around health and safety of both our customers and our people. It is currently not mandated. It is certainly on the table and certainly a point of current discussion amongst us. Thanks, Sarah.
The next question: Is Air New Zealand moving towards a single aircraft type for long-haul routes?
Yes. Yes, we are. We, as Greg mentioned, we have an order of 787s on its way over the next few years, and that will supplement the current 787s that we have. Our 777-200s have essentially finished their useful life at Air New Zealand. The 777-300s will be around for a few years, but not for too much longer, and that is where the 787s come in as the 777-300 fleet is retired. We would look internationally to be having a single fleet of 787s. However, obviously in our short-haul international market, we also use A321s and A320s where required.
The next question: could Airpoints be rolled over year by year?
That's quite a detailed operational question, so I think I will hand that to our Chief Executive Officer to answer.
I'm not sure that I can answer that one specifically, Therese. Richard, do you have the details in terms of how long the Airpoints remain valid?
Oh, I think we'll take that question away and respond directly to the questioner. Thank you.
Thank you, Richard. Thank you, Greg. Sarah, we will respond outside of the meeting to that question.
Excellent. Another Airpoints question. Airpoints recently pulled away from the option of using Airpoints to buy Mitre 10 products. Can you explain the rationale for this?
Greg, again, I will hand that directly to you.
Yes. As we've mentioned, loyalty is absolutely critical to our strategy. We've had a look at airlines around the world in terms of how they operate and how they go about, you know, allowing points to be earned and burnt. As we had a look at the relationship we had with Mitre 10, it made sense for ourselves and Mitre 10 to adjust that relationship. Certainly better for us in terms of the direction that we wanna go with the program. After a good discussion with Mitre 10, we agreed that we would move and change that strategy. You, of course, can still go into Mitre 10 and purchase a gift card and use that, but it's part of our overall plan of driving both revenue and profit in our loyalty program.
Thank you. Sarah, back to you.
The next question is: How will the no jab, no fly policy impact future revenue?
Well, I think again, there's a little bit of a crystal ball on that one, but we wouldn't have done it if we didn't think it was the right thing to do. If you think about a number of the destinations that we've already talked about this afternoon where Air New Zealand flies, there will be a number of those destinations where it's not possible to enter that country without a vaccination in any regard. Actually, it's a very practical solution from our perspective, and it is probably the future of flying in truth.
Therefore, getting in front of it and, making sure that we're working on a revenue projection that's based on, passengers having to be vaccinated and the types of entry requirements into other countries, I think is the right thing to do at this stage. We don't believe, given those requirements into other countries, that it will detrimentally impact our revenue profile.
The next question is about will having a single aircraft type expose the airline to disruptions?
Greg, would you like to answer that question?
Sure. In terms of the single aircraft type, we actually have an aircraft, and then we have engines. The two, while they obviously go together, they're separate. What we're actually going to be doing on the new aircraft that arrive will be switching to a GE engine, actually the latest one that they have, which is even more efficient than the Trent engine. That will reduce some of the exposure that we may have in terms of engines. In terms of the 787 itself, you know, that's been in production for a long time now. We really like that aircraft. We think it's wonderfully suited to Air New Zealand and perhaps even better suited now that we're dealing with COVID.
That's the rationale behind that is probably a lot of passengers for some time are going to be very keen to travel point to point. One of the great things that that 787 does is it gives us ability to fly some really long distances. You know, heading from here to New York without having to transit anywhere through the United States or to Chicago is a pretty big deal. You know, we're excited about the opportunity to do that. We like the plane. We're splitting how we're thinking about the engines. You know, the Trents have been pretty good since that initial issue several years ago. It doesn't mean that, you know, we don't keep close to them. Very excited about these two new planes that we'll start to see coming into the country in two years' time.
No, we're excited about going to one fleet. Pretty significant cost saving opportunities in terms of right across the fleet. You know, whether you're talking pilots, whether you're talking about crew, whether you're talking about, you know, maintenance, whether you're talking about catering, all of these things are going to be important and even more important post-COVID because costs are going to become critical. You know, for a period of time, the growth in the airline industry will actually be driven by more low-cost carriers. Now, we need to make sure that the costs in Air New Zealand are good enough to be able to compete should those carriers enter our market in any significant way.
Thank you, Greg. Sarah, just checking in about further questions.
Just a couple more left.
Thanks.
The next question is, with COVID likely to continue for several years, with the risks to travelers even if vaccinated, what are the long-term plans for credits if customers feel they don't want to take the risk to travel?
Well, I think that's a situation that remains under review. We've pushed out the credit, the date by which credits need to be used. I think at the moment, Greg, it sits at June 2022. I think, as per everything, through COVID, and if COVID was to continue and continue the rollercoaster ride and the volatility that we've had, then actually, we'll keep those things under review. At the moment, we think that gives people sufficient time to use the credits, by which point we would hope to see, more flying happening both domestically and, in certain parts of our international market. If that's not the case, I'm sure that will be something that will be reviewed.
Therese, just a new piece of news. We've actually extended it out six months further.
Great.
It's on from June now to the end of December. Once again, that's part of us wanting-
Yeah.
to do what's right for our customers. We'll continue to review it. As you said, it's fluid, but it's now been extended by a further six months.
Great. People have then till the end of 2022 calendar year, and, you know, we'll keep doing the right thing, and we will keep responding as the situation unfolds.
Another year to travel after that, Therese. That's when you can-
Once you've booked. Yep.
You can then go right through to the end of 2023 to travel. As I said, we wanna do what's right.
Yep. Thanks, Greg. That's a great answer. Sarah, back to you. What haven't we covered today?
Just one last final question for today. With the withdrawal of the LAX to London route, is there a plan to continue benefits with partner airlines?
Greg?
Thank you, Therese, and the answer is, you know, our alliance partnerships are critically important. You know, one of the questions we received is, you know, are we going to go around the world? The answer is not on an Air New Zealand plane at this stage. You can never say never, but that's not our plan. Boy, having those relationships with, you know, Singapore Airlines and United Airlines, for example, are just critical because then you can get around the world. Those relationships during the last 600+ days that we've been in this are even more important, and we've made sure that we've stayed very close to those partners so that you are able to use, you know, them to get wherever you need to around the world. That remains core to our strategy.
Excellent. Thank you. Sarah, are there any further questions, or was that the final question?
There are no further questions. Thank you.
Excellent. Thank you, Sarah. Thank you, Greg. Right. Well, that completes the formal business of the meeting. Thank you, again for your attendance and participation this afternoon. In conclusion, just let me say that your continued support of Air New Zealand is hugely important and greatly appreciated.
[Non-English content] I now declare the meeting closed.