=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2003/02/12/f= inancial0027EST0003.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, February 12, 2003 (AP) Air New Zealand will keep autonomy after Qantas buy-in: airline (02-12) 21:27 PST WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- Air New Zealand insisted Thursday it will keep its independence even if Australian carrier Qantas takes a 22.5 percent stake in the airline. The carrier was responding to a New Zealand government warning that cost savings from an alliance between the two airlines would link Air New Zealand to Qantas "to a greater extent than may be considered desirable by shareholders." The government owns 82 percent of the New Zealand carrier after a 885 million New Zealand dollar ($486 million) financial bailout in December 2001. Air New Zealand chief executive Ralph Norris said the proposed deal will secure the airline's autonomy, although Qantas would have some influence. "It's very important that the company remains a separate entity, that it doesn't integrate too many of its processes," Norris told National Radio. "If ... the alliance doesn't work over time then Air New Zealand can extricate itself and still have the ability to support itself across a range of activities," he added. Finance Minister Michael Cullen said the most important concern was that Air New Zealand's ability to stand alone might be gradually eroded. He said officials believe the airline must have a clause in any alliance agreement allowing it to pull out at minimal cost. The Treasury, New Zealand's finance ministry, said the New Zealand carri= er would be in a weaker position than Qantas within the alliance because a greater proportion of its business would be covered by the deal. But treasury documents added, "There are no viable alternatives that off= er the same benefits as the strategic alliance with Qantas." In a written statement to the New Zealand Commerce Commission, which is studying the Qantas-Air New Zealand proposal, Australian budget carrier Virgin Blue said it would destroy competition. Virgin Blue wants to buy Air New Zealand's budget subsidiary, Freedom Ai= r, as a condition of the Qantas-Air New Zealand deal. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 AP