Planes are back, tricks up its sleeve, Air New Zealand CE tells tech focused event. Air New Zealand's chief executive, Nikhil Ravishankar in conversation with Roger Sharp, chair of Technology Queenstown at the WiT conference yesterday The overcoming of some serious headwinds, notably the grounding of 20% of its fleet, will see Air New Zealand enter a new level of competitiveness, the WiT (Web in Travel) Conference in Queenstown heard yesterday. Air New Zealand chief executive, Nikhil Ravishankar was one of the early speakers at the event and was questioned in a 'fireside chat' format about recent Qantas moves in the market. 'All but one of our planes are back, I have been waiting six years to say something like that. It has been like we have had one arm tied behind our back,' Ravishankar says. 'Now we need to be more clever about competing. But we love being the underdog and we have a few tricks up our sleeve.' The discussion also touched on the shift towards premium product and ways to make advances in the sector from the United States and other markets. 'I have yet to meet someone who does not want to visit New Zealand, so the proposition is already attractive and Tourism New Zealand has done a great job there. The challenge is conversion. Americans think we are half-way between earth and the moon so we are doing work to overcome the tyranny of distance.' He says part of this is introducing new and improved product that focus on a sleep proposition (SkyNest being one of five that he notes). The WiT event, which continues today, kicked off with a presentation on Queenstown's effort to become a travel and hospitality technology hub. Technology Queenstown chair says the initiative was born out of Covid-19 and the realisation that an economy depending on tourism for more than 50% of its GDP needed to diversify.

Hearts & Science. Trophy cabinet. Global Drum Awards APAC Drum Awards MFA Awards Cairns Crocodiles Agency scorecards report. In 2024, Hearts & Science merged with Omnicom's stablemate Foundation, unveiling a new leadership team, 140-plus staff and a decent client portfolio. Less than a year later, Resolution Digital was also folded into the agency. Unsurprisingly, 2025 felt like a year of laying down the foundations of the new look Hearts, while holding onto clients and producing solid, if unremarkable, growth. On that front, Hearts & Science has ticked a lot of boxes. Aside from Hyundai driving into a new garage (Innocean won the account late 2024) and MECCA joining Peter Horgan at Joy Agency, Hearts retained Diageo and added a few clients in Weight Watchers, Baiada, Traveloka and Snackbrands. In 2025, Hearts & Science reported revenue growth of 7.5 per cent and a 4 per cent increase in media billings in "a challenging year for the wider market". Perhaps the agency's biggest loss was long-serving chief executive Jane Stanley, who secured a role at Air New Zealand. Former strategy chief Kim Dolengowski also left but has since been replaced by Peita Pacey. Liz Wigmore now leads the media shop, ably supported by a strong leadership bench (see above). The agency continues to put plenty of heart and science into its work. One of the best examples was the Renewable Ads Engine, developed with Sanofi. The real-time media solution dynamically adjusted ad delivery based on renewable energy availability. This increased renewable energy usage by 76 per cent and has since become a benchmark for more sustainable media planning. Its work with Diageo also broke new ground. The agency developed the Diageo Depletion Index, a proprietary planning system that combines retail and media data to unlock more effective campaign planning in a "highly regulated category". Hearts & Science said the approach delivered a whopping 197 per cent return on ad spend while reducing CPMs by 84 per cent. Hearts & Science's work picked up APAC Drum Awards wins for Technology Innovation and Sustainability, an MFA Award for Media for Good and a Cairns Crocodiles award to boot. The agency took home Silver in the Beauty & Wellness Category for its work with MECCA and Resolution Digital. Over the year, Hearts & Science continued to invest in initiatives with broader industry and community impact. The agency contributed $3.9 million in pro bono media value to KidsXpress, supported Ad Net Zero and released its "Change of Heart" research, analysing 5.6 million data points to identify emerging consumer and cultural trends. The advisory panel was impressed by the "standout integration story" of 2025. Losing very few clients through such disruption is an excellent achievement. B&T looks forward to seeing what comes next. Hightlights reel. diageo: 'the Diageo DEPLETION Index (DDI)' Faced with declining consumption and a lack of direct-to-consumer data, we helped Diageo create the Diageo Depletion Index. The proprietary planning system combined retail and media data in a regulated category. The work delivered 197 per cent ROAS and reduced CPMs by 84 per cent. TRAVELOKA: 'Why travel mediocre?' We launched Traveloka in a highly competitive travel category using high-impact, emotionally led media. The work aimed to encourage Australians to abandon clichéd, mundane ("meh") travel experiences in favor of seamless, stress-free bookings for flights, stays, and local experiences across Southeast Asia. The ads delivered record site traffic, +4.34 per cent awareness and +4.97 per cent ad recall. Opella: 'Renewable Ads Engine 2.0' Real-time ad delivery system for Opella Consumer Healthcare Australia, based on renewable energy availability. The innovative tool syncs streaming ads with real-time renewable energy grid data. This allowed Opella to dynamically activate video ads when clean energy is high. It also achieved +76 per cent increase in renewable energy usage and became a benchmark for sustainable media. Faced with declining consumption and a lack of direct-to-consumer data, we helped Diageo create the Diageo Depletion Index. The proprietary planning system combined retail and media data in a regulated category. The work delivered 197 per cent ROAS and reduced CPMs by 84 per cent. We launched Traveloka in a highly competitive travel category using high-impact, emotionally led media. The work aimed to encourage Australians to abandon clichéd, mundane ("meh") travel experiences in favor of seamless, stress-free bookings for flights, stays, and local experiences across Southeast Asia. The ads delivered record site traffic, +4.34 per cent awareness and +4.97 per cent ad recall. HEARTS & SCIENCE's take on 2025. 2025 was a defining year for Hearts & Science Australia. In a market challenged by complexity and change, we chose to evolve, bringing together three agencies into one unified, future-ready business. Guided by our "&" philosophy, we protected the heart of our culture while accelerating the science of performance, delivering 7.5 per cent revenue growth and retaining 99 per cent of our clients. We pushed boundaries through innovation, from launching the world's first Renewable Ads Engine to redefining precision planning for global brands like Diageo and HSBC. At the same time, we continued to champion diversity, achieving a 0 per cent gender pay gap and 70 per cent female leadership representation. Most importantly, we proved that emotional connection and data-driven precision are not opposing forces but multipliers. By combining both, we delivered work that resonated deeply with audiences and drove measurable outcomes for our clients. Blake power, sydney GM. Blake is always solving complex challenges across planning, buying and tech, bringing teams together and earning deep client trust along the way. All done with a smile. If we were a band, we'd be... Radiohead. Radiohead released the In Rainbows album in a really unconventional way on their own website with no publicity. It was a bold move that reshaped the industry. We feel a similar affinity, because at our best we don't just optimise what works but rethink it entirely. We fuse data, technology and human insight to create work that connects and stands apart, even if not everyone is with us on day one. Critic's comment. "Following several mergers, the band found its rhythm and delivered an impressive body of work. A few more breakout hits would have taken the performance to another level." B&T's agency score. 7.6. Previous season: 7.5. 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Despite lower fuel prices... why aren't airline ticket prices declining? July 5, 2026, 05:43 PM Doha - Al-Sharq website The decline in jet fuel prices raises repeated questions about why airfare prices remain high, but aviation industry experts confirm that fuel, while being the largest single item in operating costs, represents only part of the pricing equation, while other factors related to supply and demand, operating costs, and pricing strategies control the final prices. According to a report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), jet fuel currently accounts for about 31% of total operating costs for airlines, meaning that more than two-thirds of costs are linked to other elements such as wages, maintenance, aircraft, fees, and airports. Fuel prices fall... but other costs do not IATA data indicate that lower fuel prices do not automatically lead to a similar drop in ticket prices because airlines face continuously rising costs for labor, maintenance, spare parts, and airport fees, in addition to higher financing costs and delays in delivering new aircraft. According to the latest IATA forecast, fuel accounts for about 31% of total airline operating costs in 2026, while the remaining percentage is distributed among wages, maintenance, airport and air navigation fees, aircraft leasing, insurance, and other operating expenses. Therefore, lower fuel alone is not enough to reduce ticket prices if other cost elements remain high. Aircraft shortage reduces price competition One of the most prominent reasons preventing lower ticket prices is the continued shortage of seat supply, resulting from delays in the delivery of new aircraft from manufacturers, which has limited airlines' ability to increase operational capacity. IATA explains that supply chain disruptions continue to affect the delivery of aircraft, engines, and spare parts, keeping the number of flights below demand in many markets. Several airlines, including Air New Zealand, have announced delays in receiving new aircraft due to delivery delays, affecting expansion plans and increasing available seats - according to Reuters. Pricing does not rely solely on fuel The aviation sector relies on dynamic pricing systems based on demand volume, number of available seats, and booking timing, not just fuel cost. An academic study published on the arXiv research platform explains that airlines use advanced pricing models aimed at maximizing revenue from each flight, with the price of a seat constantly changing according to customer behavior and demand expectations. Another study found that price discrimination among travelers is a fundamental part of airlines' business models, where prices vary based on booking timing, travel class, and ticket flexibility, not just the cost of the flight. Prices do not change at the same speed as fuel changes IATA indicates that what affects airlines is not only the level of fuel prices but also the speed of their change. When prices rise or fall sharply, airlines need time to adjust their strategies, whether through modifying prices, managing operational capacity, or fuel purchase contracts. The organization explains that airlines can adapt to high fuel levels if they are stable, while sudden fluctuations represent the biggest challenge. Lower fuel may turn into improved profits IATA data show that airlines' profit margins globally are still relatively low compared to other economic sectors, so airlines often exploit lower fuel to offset past losses or improve profitability rather than directly cutting ticket prices. As the organization's report clarifies, ticket prices historically have not risen at the same pace as fuel prices or inflation, meaning that airlines bear part of cost fluctuations at the expense of their profit margins.