The CEO of Air New Zealand said on Wednesday that further delays are possible in the delivery of Boeing 787 Dreamliners it has ordered and the carrier is negotiating with Boeing to be compensated.

The carrier is expected to receive its first of eight Dreamliner aircraft by the end of 2013 after a three-year delay.

"We would not be surprised to see further delays, but we have not yet been advised formally if there are any further delays," the company's chief executive, Rob Fyfe, told Reuters in an interview.

The arrival of the carbon-composite aircraft is expected to help Air New Zealand to retire the ageing Boeing 747-400 aircraft from its fleet. It has five jumbo jets in operation each with an average age of nearly 17 years, according to its website.

Fyfe reiterated that Air New Zealand is expected to post better results in the current financial year ending June 2012, boosted by NZ$30 million (US$23.38 million) in additional revenue arising from the World Cup rugby championship.

However he said that the company was "very nervous about what is going on in Europe and the North American economies in particular," he said on the sidelines of an industry conference in Singapore.

Air New Zealand Ltd reported a second-half loss because of disasters and high fuel prices, although it has fared better than many of its competitors during tough times. It posted a net profit of NZ$81 million for the year ended June 30, compared with NZ$82 million last year.