25 JAN: Air NZ has ruled out abandoning its loss-making London routes, but may reduce frequencies. The airline flies daily from Los Angeles to London and five times a week from Hong Kong.

Responding to what the NZ Herald newspaper calls customer concerns that the routes are under threat, ceo Rob Fyfe said in a note to staff that the airline has no intention of pulling out, but is likely to adopt a seasonal approach, matching capacity more closely to demand.

"It’s no secret that we are struggling to make London profitable, just as our competitors are also struggling in this task, not just on London but on most ultra-long haul routes," Mr Fyfe said in the letter.

He said the season strategy is not new.

"We have been doing this on our Hong Kong route for some time now.

"It doesn’t mean we’re pulling out of London, and we have no current intention of withdrawing our presence from any market we serve, but it will mean adjusting our frequency to match demand where appropriate."