Air New Zealand expects its full-year profit to decline as a result of lower levels of compensation for its ongoing engine troubles in the second half and the demand uncertainty related to introduction of US tariffs. In a 16 April earnings guidance statement published on the New Zealand stock exchange, the airline forecasts a pre-tax profit for the financial year ended 30 June of NZ$150-190 million ($89-112 million). This compares with a NZ$222 million pre-tax profit in the previous full financial year. Air New Zealand, which has had to ground a number of its Airbus A320neos and Boeing 787-9s amid maintenance issues with its Pratt & Whitney PW1100G and Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, says the amount of compensation it will receive from engine manufacturers in the second half will be "substantially lower" than the NX$94 million received in the first half of the 2025 financial year, a figure which included a NZ$30 million one-off settlement for other periods. The airline says it will receive NZ$35-40 million in the second half, even though 11 of its aircraft will remain grounded because of the engine maintenance delays. "In the first half, the compensation framework included flexibility that allowed certain engines that were not able to be used in commercial service to be treated as unserviceable for the purposes of compensation," says Air New Zealand. "This is despite the airline retaining them on-wing, to allow for things like repositioning of stored aircraft." It adds: "That short-term flexibility has now ended, and only engines that are off-wing for maintenance trigger compensation. Accordingly, decisions made by the airline to retain engines on-wing for the same reasons as in the first half result in lower compensation in the second half.” The carrier notes that it is engaged in "ongoing negotiations" with engine manufacturers regarding "appropriate levels" of compensation for unserviceable engines and "accurate timeframes" for engine returns. In addition to its engine compensation woes, Air New Zealand points to "uncertainty" in the demand environment created by the US government's recent tariff announcements. "While no material changes in bookings or cargo have bene observed, the company is closely monitoring the situation," it notes.

The price that airlines are paying for jet kerosene has fallen sharply over the past several weeks as crude prices have weakened, according to energy intelligence provider ICIS. On 15 April, ICIS assessed the price of jet fuel for delivery to northwest Europe at $658 per tonne. Though this represents a $1 increase over the past week, it is down from $697.50 four weeks ago. At its highest point over the past two years, in September 2023, the figure was close to $1,100. "European jet-fuel spot prices continued downwards trajectory this week, reflecting upstream weakness despite low flat prices supporting trading activity," writes ICIS, which like Cirium is RELX-owned. "Market participants indicated pick-up in buying interest and increased hedging activity," it adds. At $64.61 per barrel, benchmark Brent crude prices are at their weakest in a year, having fallen from nearly $90 at the same point in 2024, ICIS notes. Showing similar price movements, jet fuel at New York Harbor is assessed at 202.50 US cents per gallon, down from 214 four weeks ago. Prices in Singapore were assessed at $79.69 per barrel, down from $84.70. In all three regions, prices were slightly higher on the week. "Jet-kerosene outright prices in the Asia-Pacific region were assessed higher than the previous reporting week, supported by stronger crude and an improvement in refining margins and physical premiums for jet kerosene," says ICIS, noting that prices have been buoyed by exemptions announced by the USA. It adds that a softer dollar has reduced costs for non-US crude and oil products buyers.

China Southern Airlines has suspended its solicitation of bids on 10 Boeing 787-8s and two spare GE Aerospace GEnx-1B70/P2 engines via the Shanghai United Equity Exchange. The carrier decided to suspend the bids "in view of the existence of matters affecting property rights transactions", says the SUAEE. It specifies that the solicitation of bids has been suspended until 12 May. The suspension comes amid a tit-for-tat trade war between the USA and China which may affect Boeing aircraft deliveries into China. Bloomberg News reported on 15 April that China has ordered its carriers not to take delivery of Boeing jets, citing people familiar with the matter.