Don't forget who really owns Air NZ...
3 November 2001
Air New Zealand has joined the growing list of airlines around the world that have either collapsed or are on the brink. The country’s Labour-led government was forced to step in last month with a $NZ885 million rescue package to prevent the airline being dragged under by the failure of its Australian subsidiary Ansett. Having purchased an 83 percent stake in Air NZ, the government is now engaged in extensively restructuring the airline in a bid to keep it afloat.
Prime Minister Helen Clark argued that the move was essential to the national interest. A national carrier was needed, she said, to ensure a measure of control and certainty over such vital economic activities as tourism, overseas trade and domestic and international travel. The country’s other main airline, Qantas New Zealand, a privately-owned local franchise of the Australian carrier Qantas, collapsed in April with the loss of 1,100 jobs and debts of over $NZ20 million.