Pav still on Air NZ menu - at least for now

By CHRIS DANIELS

Our national carrier, Air New Zealand, will soon be 25 per cent owned by one of the world's biggest and richest airways, Singapore Airlines.

The business world has been full of the gossip and deals that have led to the partial takeover, but what will it mean to the travelling public?

The verdict is that there will not be any Singapore Girls offering pav and kiwifruit just yet, but changes are expected.

It is not yet known if there are any plans to change airfares.

David Burns, sales and marketing manager for the Flight Centre, says he is not expecting too many quick changes.

"In the short-term you won't see any difference, but in the medium-term you might see more code-sharing," he says.

"Air New Zealand service is actually pretty good, and while obviously so is Singapore Airlines, it is different - it is an Asian airline. Whether that is good or bad for Air New Zealand, I'm not so sure."

Burns expects that eventually Singapore Airlines will take over certain routes that Air New Zealand now flies and that "at the business end they will bring in some pretty good management skills.

One risk to Air New Zealand could be a gradual loss of its distinctive Kiwiness when Singapore Airline executives start playing more of a management role.

The really scary scenario would have been Qantas taking a major stake in Air New Zealand ending the competition between the two on transtasman routes.

"I will be extremely interested to see what happens at the senior management level of Air New Zealand, "that's where culture changes," Burns said.

Air New Zealand spokesman Alastair Carthew said passengers would notice little difference when Singapore Airlines arrives on the board of directors.

Code-sharing agreements signed 18 months ago with Singapore Airlines and Ansett Australia had already opened up a huge network across the globe for Air New Zealand passengers.

"They probably won't notice much difference," Carthew said. "All there will be is an equity stake and board representation that Singapore Airlines will have.

"The Air New Zealand brand is safe."