Air NZ, Qantas quit booking firms for $80m each

Air New Zealand and Qantas have each pocketed about $ 80 million after selling two subsidiary booking companies to their international parents.

The computer reservation companies, Sabre Pacific and Southern Cross Galileo, were owned by the two airlines' joint-owned associate company, Travel Industries Automated Systems (TIAS).

The sale will provide $A65 million ($79.33 million) to Qantas and approximately $80 million to Air New Zealand.

Air New Zealand chairman Sir Selwyn Cushing said the company had been looking to sell non-core investments, so it could concentrate on the "domestic and international strengths of its Australasian airline business."

Sir Selwyn said the sale to Dallas-based Sabre and Colorado-based Galileo International was effective immediately but TIAS would continue to provide administrative support services.

TIAS will continue to focus on internet business operations, including data management services to the travel industry.

TIAS chief executive Jackie Cook said the decision to sell was in line with industry trends.

Meanwhile there has been no movement on the sale of another Air New Zealand offshoot, its holding in networks communications firm Equant.

Air NZ said in February it expected to sell its remaining Equant holding in the second half of this financial year, but yesterday there had been no progress.

The airline, which reported a sharply reduced net profit of $3.8 million, put a market value of $44 million on the shares in February, compared to the $69 million put on the stake by Sir Selwyn last August.

The Equant stake is in Air New Zealand's books at zero.

Air New Zealand's restricted A shares were down 1c at $1.04, and the B shares were down 1c at $1.49.

France Telecom SA in November bought a controlling stake in Equant NV in a complex deal when it agreed to merge its Global One corporate telecoms unit with Equant.

- NZPA