From: Internal Communications Sent: Friday, 28 October 2011 4:02 p.m. To: !

staff updates Subject: CEO MESSAGE: 28 October 2011

Nearly a week on from the glory of our Rugby World Cup victory and it seems the party is only just starting to wind down. While the All Blacks (and the nation!) were still celebrating on Monday, we were dealing with one of our busiest days ever as tens of thousands of fans headed home. It was a record day on the Tasman with more than 10,000 passengers travelling; and this was on top of carrying more than 24,000 passengers on the Domestic network. Our Auckland Domestic and International lounges also both had record days breaking the records set just the week before for the semis! Monday was also the opening of Kapiti Coast Airport, supporting our new direct service between Paraparaumu and Auckland. Two Q300 aircraft and a Beech 1900 arrived five minutes apart in front of a crowd of about 1000 people. Thank you to all the Air New Zealanders who played a part in the preparation and smooth execution of what we always knew would be a crunch day. Tuesday saw us pull out the all black A320 aircraft to fly the ABs and their management on a victory tour to Christchurch for an amazing reception at the Hagley Park fan zone and then onto Wellington where they stayed overnight before taking part in a street parade and parliamentary reception the next day. Our own Public Affairs Social Media Team was there to cover all the magic moments and compiled this video which captures the spirit and excitement of the day. In the build up to the Final, last Friday we announced the continuation of our sponsorship of the All Blacks for a further four years taking the relationship beyond the next Rugby World Cup in England in 2015. This extends the partnership between Air New Zealand and the New Zealand Rugby Union to 20 years and maintains our status as official sponsor of the All Blacks. What you wont know is that these negotiations were concluded prior to the start of the RWC tournament and reflected our faith that the team had the ability to pull through and claim the ultimate prize. While it was ultimately a nail biting finale on Sunday, the performances of the last two years reflect that this is undoubtedly one of the best performing All Black teams we have ever seen! I had plenty of time to reflect on the success of our part in the RWC tournament as I travelled to Frankfurt on Wednesday night for Star Alliance duties. In my role as Chairman of Star Alliance Im heading the panel interviewing candidates for the CEO role recently vacated by Jaan Albrecht after 10 years. As a small airline at the bottom of the world, the Star Alliance relationship is absolutely critical to us. Star carriers represent 56% of our interline income from partner airlines and about half of all interline passengers. The CEO role of such a large and influential global organisation is a very important one and I believe we have some excellent candidates to consider. Back in New Zealand, we now swing into full election mode with polling day just four weeks away. Political hoardings are popping up all over the place, but it was with some concern that I was alerted to a Labour Party campaign television commercial that unfortunately misuses our Koru symbol. The Koru is one of New Zealands most beloved icons and yesterday I personally wrote to Labour Leader Phil Goff asking that it not be denigrated in this way: Dear Phil An Air New Zealander alerted me to a 3News story broadcast yesterday that highlighted some of Labours forthcoming election advertising, which includes a play on asset sales and drawing a link to Air New Zealand. While I totally accept and understand that the partial sale of State owned assets is a legitimate focus for political debate during the forthcoming campaign, I was concerned

by the irreverent representation of our beloved Koru, which in my view denigrated and debased a symbol that has enormous meaning not just to the people of Air New Zealand but to New Zealanders. The Koru carries considerable equity that is the result of decades of work by tens of thousands of New Zealanders at home and in overseas markets and hundreds of millions of dollars of brand investment and advertising. It is arguably the most recognised corporate brand in New Zealand and New Zealands most recognised corporate brand overseas. As such we are at pains to protect its integrity and value and have very strict guidelines for its use that have been developed in consultation with Maori and brand management experts. In the case of the advertisement that was highlighted in the 3News story, the Koru has been used facing in the wrong direction, a move clearly designed for production purposes so the visual treatment of the ad works with the script. The context of the Korus use as a symbol to provoke political controversy is in conflict with the core meaning of the Koru and denigrates and debases a symbol that we cherish, and one I believe all New Zealanders cherish. Furthermore, having the letters ASS in caps precede the Koru is, in my view, disrespectful to the brand and all those who have worked to give it the strength and resonance it has globally today. I would ask that the advertisement featuring the Koru is not used in its current form, or at a minimum the creative treatment is amended so as to not denigrate and debase this brand symbol that has transcended generations and symbolises our future hopes and aspirations. Yours sincerely Rob Fyfe Chief Executive Officer Im all for open and honest political debate, but I hope that good sense prevails on this occasion and that this unfortunate abuse of our Koru just quietly disappears from our screens. Ill let you know the outcome of this discussion next week. Finally, Ive had several emails asking about the outcome of the Sealegs Race with Richard Branson last Friday. Well, despite Richards ultra-competitive nature, I won! The only downside was a small injury the founder of Sealegs who was on the boat with me told me I could go full throttle around the whole course and Id chicken out before the boat did so I took him at his word. Suffice to say attempting a U turn at 70 kph is not recommended. Im now sporting a broken finger which will get pinned and a screw in it when I get back from Frankfurt next week. Not a great example given my strong focus on health and safety in the workplace - Ill be more careful next time! Have a great weekend,