Air New Zealand (ASX: AIZ) share price plummets 16% in a month

New Zealand's national air carrier has had a turbulent month.

Monica O'Shea

Monica is a journalist with experience working for Daily Mail Australia in Sydney and the Port Pirie Recorder and the Flinders News in South Australia. Monica completed a journalism cadetship in 2013. She also hold a B.Science (Biotechnology) with Honours from the University of Adelaide. Monica has worked in government at the local, state and federal level. Monica has a keen interest in finance and the share market and enjoys exploring the highs and lows. When not writing for Motley Fool Australia, Monica enjoys travel, sport, music, and likes to play the violin in her spare time.

Published March 9, 2022 1:28 pm AEDT

The Air New Zealand Ltd (ASX: AIZ) share price has been under pressure in the past month.

The company's shares have shed almost 16% in a month and are currently trading at $1.30 each, up 0.39% on the day so far. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has lost around 1.7% in the past month.

Let's take a look at what is happening at this ASX airline.

A female cabin crew member on a place looks like she has a headache. — Image source: Getty Images

What's happening at Air New Zealand?

Airline shares have been under pressure lately amid rising fuel prices. The Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share has also dropped 16% in the past month.

In today's news, Air New Zealand is holding talks with striking cabin crew amid an ongoing wage dispute, New Zealand news website Stuff reported.

Employees who were made redundant during the COVID-19 pandemic are upset about being re-hired on lower wages. The company has rehired more than a thousand former staff for New Zealand's international border opening, Newshub reported.

In recent share market news, Air New Zealand has recently been removed from the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO). This was announced after market close on Friday as part of a quarterly rebalance of S&P/ASX indices. It will take effect from 21 March. Air New Zealand shares fell more than 3% between market close on Friday and Monday 7 March.

Finally, Air New Zealand's half-yearly report also may have had a negative impact on its share price. The company's shares dropped almost 4% on the day the report was released.

In its report, Air New Zealand said its fuel costs increased 14% to $174 million for the half-year. And the company noted it expects fuel costs to impact second-half results.

The airline reported a statutory loss before tax of $376 million, with dividends remaining suspended.

The company aims to be carbon neutral by 2050.

The Air New Zealand share price has fallen 12.7% in the past year, while it is down almost 8% this year to date.

For perspective, the benchmark ASX 200 has returned about 4% over the past year.

In the past week, Air New Zealand shares have slumped almost 10%.

Air New Zealand has a market capitalisation of about $1.46 billion based on the current share price.

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