Hello from bizjournals.com! David Mueller (davidm@smail.info) thought you might like the following article from Pacific Business News: South Pacific 'open skies' agreement nears ------------------------------------------------------------ Air New Zealand and Australia's dominant airline Qantas have decided they both can benefit from an Australia-New Zealand agreement to let either carrier serve any market in the other's home country. The governments of the two countries are said to be close to approving a treaty that clears such amicable competition for takeoff. Tentative agreement has been announced jointly this month by the two nations. Air Transport World quotes the transport minister of New Zealand, Judith Tizzard, as saying the agreement will allow either carrier to operate as many flights as desired "over any routing they choose." Qantas is currently negotiating for a minority stake — the figure 25 percent, while widely reported, is not confirmed – in Air New Zealand, which is mostly owned by the New Zealand government as a result of its recent bailout. Airline industry analysts say the practical effect, regardless of whether Qantas takes a stake in Air New Zealand, will be to strengthen both airlines against Singapore Air and Virgin Blue. Air New Zealand and Qantas both have regular scheduled service from their home countries to Hawaii. Copyright(c) American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved. You can view this article on the web at: http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2002/08/12/daily33.html