Up to 15,000 passengers could be disrupted if Air New Zealand cabin crew go ahead with strike action next month.

The airline's largely unionised crew plan to strike on December 8th demanding greater salaries and allowances.

The flagship carrier's assessing the potential effect on operations.

Expert and advisor to business leaders, Bruce Cotterill, says people have high expectations when it comes to Air New Zealand and CEO Nikhil Ravishankar's response has left some disappointed.

"You do expect a level of performance and that level of performance isn't there at the moment. So it's frustrating - it's frustrating for travellers, I'm sure it's frustrating for Air New Zealand as well."

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• Up to 15,000 travellers could face delays if Air NZ cabin crew strike proceeds