P.M. BRIEFING : 4 Airlines May Buy Into Qantas
From Times Wire Services
CANBERRA, Australia —
Stakes in the Australian airline Qantas could be sold to American Airlines, Japan Air Lines, Lufthansa and British Airways, Qantas Chairman Bill Dix said today.
The Labor government has plans to sell off a 49% stake in Qantas, the state-owned international airline.
Qantas, with a heavy debt load, requires a capital injection of $930 million, Dix told a tourism seminar in Cairns.
“I would not rule out the acquisition of a stake in Qantas by some of the major carriers with which we do and will be doing business,” Dix said.
Dix also said Qantas plans to nearly double its fleet of wide-bodied aircraft--to 80--by the end of the decade.
