KEY POINTS:
Air New Zealand investors appeared unconcerned by the drama surrounding the Qantas deal yesterday.
The airline's shares closed up 1c at $2.85.
Qantas shares are expected to fall sharply when they resume trading today, but local aviation analysts expect this to have little or no effect on Air New Zealand's value.
The earnings upgrades Air New Zealand had delivered since the Qantas bid started in November showed its solid share price gains were deserved, said Marcus Curley at Goldman Sachs JBWere.
Air New Zealand shares have risen 163 per cent from their $1.08 low last August.
The Qantas bid had been well timed for Air New Zealand, as it highlighted the stock's value, said Forsyth Barr's Rob Mercer.
But the fundamentals for all the major airlines had improved since November, and it was no longer reasonable to assume the Air New Zealand price was being propped up by the Qantas takeover.
Air New Zealand was in a better position than Qantas to improve profits in the short term because it had completed the capital expenditure required to upgrade its aircraft, Mercer said.
New International Air Transport Association figures also present a healthy picture for aviation.
March traffic results show that international passenger traffic demand rose 7.8 per cent year-on-year.
