As part of the carrier’s restructure, Air New Zealand has created the new executive position of chief operations officer, to be filled by the current group general manager Australasia, Bruce Parton.

Stepping into the new role from 1 January 2013, the airline’s designated chief executive officer Christopher Luxon said Mr Parton was “ideal” for the position, with his 16 year history with the carrier and diverse background.

“With his mix of technical, logistics and commercial background, Bruce was the ideal candidate to fill the new chief operations officer role and being an internal appointment further supports a strong executive leadership team ready to hit the ground running in 2013,” Mr Luxon explained.

Prior to being Air New Zealand’s group general manager, Mr Parton held positions such as; general manager of materials and components and general manager domestic airline.