Air New Zealand To File Alliance Application

Air New Zealand To File Alliance Application December 9

Statement made by Ralph Norris, Managing Director, Air New Zealand Limited

Air New Zealand will file its Applications for authorisation of the Qantas alliance with regulatory authorities on Monday, December 9, 2002.

Accompanying the Application will be an economic analysis in a report which forecasts the Alliance between the two airlines will generate economic benefits for New Zealand of around $1 billion over five years.

This will include 200 additional highly skilled Air New Zealand jobs, 50,000 more tourists a year, enhanced air freight services and the more effective promotion of New Zealand overseas.

The Application will be lodged with the New Zealand Commerce Commission and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Air New Zealand will release the Application and report after its formal filing has been received by the regulators.

The report has been prepared by the Australian based Network Economics Consultation Group, which has undertaken many substantial economic advisory projects in New Zealand in recent years.

The financial integrity of the data underlying the report has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the economic outcomes peer reviewed by other international economists.

Air New Zealand believes the economic analysis will answer many of the business and economic issues being raised in association with the proposed alliance.

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