Air deal set for takeoff

Air New Zealand says it may conclude its purchase of the half of Ansett Holdings it does not already own as early as this week, after winning conditional approval from the Australian government.

New Zealand's No 1 airline will pay about $A700 million ($NZ893.4) million to buy 50 per cent of Australia's No 2 airline from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

The purchase "represents achievement of a long-term strategy to build a robust Australasian airline," Air New Zealand managing director Jim McCrea said.

Air New Zealand's approval for the Ansett purchase clears another hurdle in the company's plan to strengthen its competitiveness.

Singapore Airlines, the world's largest airline by market capitalisation, tied its purchase of a quarter of Air New Zealand to the completion of its takeover of Ansett.

SIA has said it wants to be a strategic partner with Air New Zealand and Ansett as the carriers take on Qantas, Australia's No 1 carrier.

The Air New Zealand-Ansett combination, one of the world's 20 biggest airlines, also faces competition from discount carriers Impulse Airlines and Virgin Blue.

- NZPA

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