May 2026
- May 14
- 7 min read
Updated: May 14
WELCOME
As a member or prospective member you will have an interest in Air New Zealand and aviation. For many of us the association with the airline involved our entire career years sprinkled with highlights and low lights. A highlight being in Frankfurt when Air New Zealand began its first service to Europe, the lowest light for most of is being the Erebus accident. There were highlights too involving interesting people who crossed our path. Aviatrix Jean Batten in a 1977 visit to New Zealand ( she ignored the women and played to the men). In flight of course there were numerous eminent people who enjoyed talking with us kiwi flavoured Air New Zealanders. Film stars and adventurers, royalty and sometimes the infamous. Please enjoy the newsletter, join in retiree club events and please support the volunteers who make our club an ongoing part of the Air New Zealand family.
We welcome all new members who have recently joined our club, and we hope to see you soon at an event. We pass on our sincere condolences to the families of those members of our Retirees Club we have recently lost. To those who attend our events regularly, thank you for your continuing support of our Club. Our next event is the Mid Year Lunch & AGM on 10 June and a visit to Tip Top Icecream factory paired with a Waipuna Lodge luncheon on 20 August 2026. Remember to put these in your diary.
Congratulations to our member and long serving past employee Laurie Mills - as recipient of the Kings Service Medal for services to theatre.
We hope you are enjoying our Club Members stories in SHARE YOUR STORY. If you would like to contribute please email these to airnzretirees@gmail.com, for publication in upcoming newsletters. We look forward to hearing all your airline work stories - keep them coming.
RECENT EVENTS
Waiheke Wild Estate Wine & Beer tasting 4 March 2026 Report by Antoinette Nelson A small group of 10 participated in this outing. The weather gods were on our side and provided a stunning, sunny day. The sea was calm which made the trip on the ferry to Waiheke and back most enjoyable. To get to the vineyard we used the local buses. Four different wines from the local vineyard were provided for our tasting: one rosé and three reds. Our beer tasters got to sample four beers brewed on the premises. The lunch menu offered a good selection and the food was excellent. All in all a most enjoyable day.
RECENT EVENTS
Warbirds & Avspecs visit - 29 April 2026 Report by Jo Foged
At 10:30 on Wednesday 29 April twenty six club members commenced their guided tour of the Warbirds Museum at Ardmore Airport. They were divided into two groups, one to see the World War I British and German fighters and the other to view the post WWII aircraft. Having completed each tour the groups switched locations. The WWI hangar contained some surprisingly well preserved machines and a number of superbly recreated replicas including “Snoopys” red Fokker Tri- plane. The Bristol Fighter was another highlight. It is significantly bigger than some of its opponents but fared well against them. In the main building the last RNZAF jet fighter, the Douglas Skyhawk, took pride of place. While it looks small in the air it is quite a large machine to a layman. A major restoration project is an English Electric Canberra bomber which was flown by the RNZAF in the 1950s. The museum also houses some 3000 aircraft models.
The group then made their way to the Avspecs facility where they are in the last phase of building a WWII Mosquito fighter/bomber. This is the 5th example they have made and they have an order for a 6th. It doesn't seem that long ago since the first restored Mosquito flew over Clevedon. Avspecs have just started on the rebuild of a 4 engined WWII Boeing B-17 bomber named “Yankee Lady”. It is in bare polished aluminium and the nose and cockpit section is in the workshop and is the first part of the project which is estimated to take between 5 and 7 years to complete. It will then go back to its Californian owner. With the tour completed, some members visited the Aviation Cafe for lunch and a chat about what they had just experienced.
SHARING HIS STORY
Seth Bird
I was born 2nd April 1942 in Lower Hutt. I won’t bore you with my early working life
but in 1960 I started work at Aero Engine Services Ltd in their Hamilton engine
overhaul shop. I always loved aeroplanes and knew immediately this was going to be the career path for me. The company ran a bonus scheme for the time taken to carry out each task in the engine overhaul process. I leaped into this and worked hard and fast accumulating a tidy sum over a period. Download the whole story below...
UPCOMING EVENT
Mid-year lunch and AGM
Date: Wednesday 10 June 2026
Location: 27 Ohinerau Street, Remuera, Auckland 1050
Time: 11:30am Cost: $45.00pp
Arrive, Mix and Mingle from 11.30am. Annual General Meeting at 12:00 noon.
Lunch at 12.30. Raffle at 1:00pm followed by Dessert, tea and coffee. AGM Documents available below.
DOWNLOAD AGM DOCUMENTS
Please click on the links below, to download each document
UPCOMING EVENT
Tip Top Ice Cream Visit
Date: Thursday 20 August 2026
Location: 113 Carbine Road, Mount Wellington, Auckland 1060
Tour Times: 10:00am and 11:00am / $15.00 payable by eftpos of card only
Lunch: 12:30 Waipuna Lodge Buffet / Gold Card price $40.00pp
Suitable only for mobile members due to 80 access steps to entrance. Bookings will open in the July Newsletter. These events may be booked separately.
SAVE THE DATE
More information to follow CHRISTMAS LUNCH 02 December 2026 at 12:30
STAY SAFE ONLINE A Guide to Scam Awareness
Most of us spent our careers in an industry that took safety seriously. Checklists, procedures, and a healthy respect for what could go wrong, helped us to prepare for the unexpected, which is what separates a manageable situation from a serious one. The online world deserves a similar approach. Scams and digital fraud have become increasingly sophisticated, and with the rise of artificial intelligence, even a familiar voice on the phone or a convincing photograph on Facebook can no longer be taken at face value. This is new territory for everyone, including people who have worked in technology their whole lives. This short interactive training was put together using Claude.ai from Anthropic, and covers the most common scams doing the rounds right now, how to spot them, and a few simple habits that can help you protect yourself. Consider it a preflight check for the digital world. It always pays to be vigilant.
NEW MEMBERS
For those interested, you can now keep in touch via our Facebook Groups page. If you have friends or know of anyone that might wish to join the club, please invite them along to an event so they can see the camaraderie club members enjoy.
Karen Rigg 1974 - 2012 Cargo
Jane Briant-Turner 1985 - 2026 Financial Accounting and Control
Karen Kiddell 2007 - 2026 Centralised Baggage Services Team
Trevor French 1968 - 2005 Engineering
John Stacey 1965 - 1997 Flight Operations
OBITUARIES
VARCOE, Anthony Wentworth (Bill) On 5 February 2026 aged 96 years, our magnificent Bill passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his loved ones.
A celebration of Bill's life was held at Purewa All Saints Chapel on 12 February.
HAIRE, Dave With heavy hearts we let you know the peaceful passing of Dave, 74years young, on the 20th February 2026, after a 9-year battle with cancer.
A service was held at All Saints Chapel, Purewa, 27th February
ROSCOE, John John passed away on 6 May 2026 after a short illness. John was a dedicated life member of our club as well as St Columba Church, Botany and will be sadly missed by his family and friends. John was an extremely hardworking and innovative club member of Air New Zealand Retired Staff Club (Northern), and during his many years on our Committee he set up the Club Membership database and website, giving members easy access to all the latest news and events. He was awarded Life membership of our club in June 2023 for his creative and dedicated service to our Club. The committee wishes to acknowledge the recent passing of past Air New Zealand employees, who were not club members
Sir Selwyn Cushing passed away 10 February 2026 - a Brierley appointed director of Air New Zealand, also became an acting CEO of the airline between permanent CEOs during turbulent times.
Ray Webster passed away on 14 February 2026. He grew up on the West Coast of the South Island and began as an engineering apprentice at NAC and by 1977 was NACs Chief Engineer. In 1990 he became head of ANZ's commercial operations in the Americas, based in Los Angeles. In 1992 he returned to Auckland as general manager of strategic planning. In January 1996 Webster became managing director of EasyJet seeing the airline through its initial years of formation during his time with the airline the fleet grew from 3 A320s to 160 and he was known for his entrepreneurial leadership.
Norm Geary passed 18 February 2026. He was a leader of Air NZ in challenging times through the 1980s. A kiwi from Dunedin, he joined Air NZ in February 1982 from BP where he was regional director for Europe. It was a time of growth for the airline, the introduction of services to the UK and Frankfurt. Norman left Air NZ at the time of the Brierley investments purchase in 1989,continuing his airline connections as Chairman of Tourism NZ, and as a full time director of large new Zealand companies including ANZ bank
YOUR COMMITTEE
Following our AGM the Club Committee remains the same. Members considering joining our thriving committee are invited to contact either Antoinette Nelson or Gaye Mears.
President / Treasurer Gaye Mears gayemears45@gmail.com
Secretary Antoinette Nelson antoinette@outlook.co.nz
Past President Jo Foged jonjosie.foged@xtra.co.nz
Committee Peter Elmsly, Jo Foged, Tanya Somerville, Maggie Willis,
Margaret Holden, Peter Burn
Contact us airnzretirees@gmail.com
Patron Richard Thomson | CFO at Air New Zealand
NAME BADGES
We encourage you to wear name badges at lunches and on any trips. It makes it so much easier when you know a face but can't quite remember the name that goes with it so please order yours now if you plan to attend any of the events coming up. Cost is $15 for pin-on badge and $20 for magnetic type. Please note that badges will be handed out at the next event you attend.
CURRENT PAYMENT OPTIONS
You must be a fully paid up member to attend club events.
Annual membership fees are $ 15.00 per person, invoiced in July and January each year. You can pay into our bank account online banking (direct debit or direct credit), by phone banking, or at a Smart ATM.
Air NZ Retirees Club
Account: 06-0222-0851695-00
Particulars: Your Surname
Code: SUBS
Reference: Your phone number
Payee Name: Air New Zealand Retired Staff Club Nthn
COMPANY NEWS
Regular media releases are published online by Air New Zealand and you can access these from our website under the heading Links.
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