Air New Zealand is making the most of increased demand for domestic and international travel to streamline its recovery from the pandemic, with New Zealand’s flag carrier lifting its half-year earnings guidance for the 2023 financial year.

The airline on Thursday said it expects to earn about $100 million more for the 2023 financial year as limited service availability and high consumer demand continue to drive up airfares in Australia and New Zealand.

With flight capacity reduced for many airlines, and the price of jet fuel still 20 per cent higher than pre-covid prices, airlines are forecasting big profits, with Qantas expecting to book between $1.35 billion and $1.45 billion in underlying profit before tax in the first half of its financial year.

Similarly, Virgin Australia expects to be profitable in the 2023 financial year for the second time in a decade, while Rex also forecasts profits after its intercity jet operations recorded its first monthly profits in September and October 2022.

In a statement posted to the ASX on Thursday, Air New Zealand said that it anticipated earnings would now be between $295 million to $325 million, before other significant items and taxation. Previous estimates in September this year had earnings at $200 million to $275 million.

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Air New Zealand’s updated forecast is based on current forward sales expectations, and the assumption that it will fly at approximately 75 per cent of pre-COVID levels across its entire network in December 2022.

Domestic travel for Air New Zealand is running at just below 100 per cent capacity, while short-haul is about 85 per cent and international about 70 per cent, with the airline acknowledging that capacity constraints had impacted company growth and pricing for customers.

However, the airline said that it had hired 2200 employees since February 2022, which adds another 200,000 seats per year into the domestic network, relieving some stresses for both customers and company.