Editing Air New Zealand (section)

===Merger with Ansett===
{{further|History of Air New Zealand#Ansett collapse}}

In 2000, Air New Zealand announced that it had chosen instead to acquire the entirety of Ansett  Transport Industries (increasing its 50% stake in the carrier to 100%) for A$680 million from News Corporation in an attempt to break into the Australian aviation market. Business commentators<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/aviation/news/article.cfm?c_id=556&objectid=217059|title=Ambition flies in the face of reality|author =Brian Gaynor|newspaper=[[New Zealand Herald]] |date=15 September 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kBMuSdPpLXkC&pg=PA103|title=Limits to Privatization: How to Avoid Too Much of a Good Thing|author1=Marianne Beisheim |author2=Ernst Ulrich Von Weizsacker |author3=Oran R. Young |author4=Matthias Finger |publisher=Earthscan|year=2005|page=103|isbn=1-84407-177-4}}</ref> believe this to have been a critical mistake, as Ansett's fleet, staffing levels and infrastructure far outweighed that of Air New Zealand. Subsequently, both carriers' profitability came under question, and foreign offers to purchase the Air New Zealand Group were considered. In September 2001, plagued by costs it could not possibly afford, the Air New Zealand / Ansett Group neared collapse. A failed attempt at purchasing [[Virgin Australia|Virgin Blue]] was the final straw, and on 12 September, out of both time and cash, Air New Zealand placed Ansett Australia into voluntary administration, following which Ansett was forced to cease operations. Air New Zealand announced a NZ$1.425 billion operating loss.<ref name="CompanyHistory"/> Air New Zealand was subsequently bailed out by the New Zealand Government, with [[Helen Clark]]'s Labour Government taking an 82% stake in the company.