Supporters of airline deal compare NZ with Slovenia

By FRAN O"SULLIVAN

Just 11 minutes after Air New Zealand chairman John Palmer began his midday announcement, the first supporting statement appeared.

"This may be the only viable way forward for Air New Zealand if it is to meet its strategic aims," began the statement from the Employers and Manufacturers Association northern chief executive, Alasdair Thompson.

"In the end neither New Zealand nor Air New Zealand have many choices considering our smallness, our Slovenia level of GDP, and the state of the Air New Zealand balance sheet."

Slovenia, huh?

Would you credit it, when Business New Zealand chief executive Simon Carlaw chimed in some time later, there it was again.

"I think the details are about what one would expect of a country that the OECD now ranks with Slovenia and Cyprus," his statement declared.

"I don't believe that when we gradually slip, as we have, that you can seriously expect from our geographical position on the last bus stop to be able to run the full trappings of a global airline."

It's called winning "minds over hearts".

Air New Zealand officials summoned a bunch of business organisation chiefs to a pre-announcement briefing on the Qantas deal at 8.30am yesterday.

The invited had to sign strict confidentiality agreements to avoid breaching Stock Exchange provisions.

Others present included Auckland Regional Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Barnett and Tourism Industry Association chief executive John Moriarty.

Business Roundtable executive director Roger Kerr - a fearsome proponent of competition - was not present.

But his new chairman, Rob McLeod, was.

But if the airline chiefs were looking for a quick endorsement from Roundtable - which Mr Norris once chaired - it was not coming. Mr McLeod intended to have an in-depth discussion with Mr Kerr first before coming to a considered viewpoint.

Other business players who had earlier expressed strong opposition to the Air New Zealand/Qantas tie-up have gone strangely quiet after receiving their special briefings from both airlines.

Manufacturing "third party endorsement" is how the public relations players put it and after the huge criticism of the Qantas deal, the airline chiefs could not be blamed for an attempt to line up a cheer squad - said one invited player in another "confidential aside".