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Read the text then classify the statements that follow.
Na#onal airlines
A na5onal airline is not simply the means by which visitors can travel to a given country,
it is o=en perceived as the flagship of that country. Visitors’ percep5ons of an airline and the
image it creates reflect upon the image and percep5ons of the country itself, and it is in realisa5on
of this that governments o=en subsidise the airline heavily to help ensure it is considered one of
the world’s finest.
In Australia, Qantas has produced images aDrac5ve to both Australians and interna5onal
travellers. A notable Qantas adver5sing campaign, ‘I s5ll call Australia home’ was successful both
domes5cally and interna5onally. No doubt Qantas officials and the Australian government were
pleased with the image boost given to the airline when Dus5n Hoffman, in the blockbuster movie
Rain Man reminded the world of the enviable crash record of the company. It was indeed true
that Qantas had never lost an aircra= un5l an incident in Bangkok in 1999, par5cularly impressive
given that it had been opera5ng for over three-quarters of a century without any such incident.
The company began life as the ‘Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited’ on
16th November, 1920. The ini5als soon became a well-known word as Qantas, pronounced
‘kwontus’, went from strength to strength. Following the collapse of AnseD airlines in September
2001, the airline operated what was essen5ally a monopoly on its domes5c routes, un5l the
arrival of Virgin Blue, a UK-based company that began offering cut-price alterna5ves. Offshore,
Qantas con5nues to operate successfully. It is the second-largest airline opera5ng out of
Singapore Airport and has also expanded into the domes5c New Zealand market. While Qantas
shares have been bought by other airlines, primarily Bri5sh Airways, the company remains 51%
Australian owned.
The achievements of New Zealand’s main airline are no less impressive. Air New Zealand
began life in April 1940 with the incorpora5on of Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL), although
it was not known by its modern name un5l 25 years later. At the 5me of its incep5on, TEAL was
jointly owned by the governments of New Zealand and Australia, and it was not un5l April 1961
that full ownership was assumed by New Zealand. The company operated trans-Tasman services
and routes to Asia, the USA, the UK and Europe. As TEAL became Air New Zealand, they con5nued
to operate interna5onal flights while domes5c routes were served by the New Zealand Na5onal
Airways Corpora5on (NAC) un5l 1978, when the two companies merged. Priva5sa5on occurred
in April 1989, when the company was sold for NZ$660 million. Since March 1999, Air New Zealand
has been a member of the Star Alliance Group, which includes Air Canada, Singapore Airlines and
United Airlines. It is the largest global alliance in the world, and offers significant loyalty rewards
to repeat clientele.
In many ways, Bri5sh Airways could be considered a rela5vely new entrant to the field.
The contemporary Bri5sh Airways was established in April 1972 as a result of a government-
orchestrated merger of BOAC and BEAC, both former state airlines. The beginnings of
interna5onal commercial avia5on in the UK were heavily focused on long-haul routes to former
Bri5sh Empire des5na5ons including Australasia and the Far East. However, back in 1935 a small,
independent airline, also known as Bri5sh Airways (which would later become part of BOAC
before re-emerging under its own name) specialised in flights to and from mainland Europe. The
1990s was a period of rapid global expansion for Bri5sh Airways. Ac5vi5es included the
establishment of the German carrier Deutsche BA and purchase of shares both in Qantas and US
Airways. The star of the Bri5sh Airways fleet was the Concorde, built and operated in conjunc5on
with Air France from 1975. The Air France Concorde crash in Paris in 2000 contributed to the
downfall of the aircra=, which is no longer in opera5on.
Classify the following statements as referring to:
1. QANTAS (QAS)
2. Air New Zealand (ANZ)
3. Bri5sh Airways (BA)
Write the correct leDer A-C in boxes 1-10 below.
1. This airline is one of the largest airlines opera5ng out of Singapore.
2. This airline owns shares in Australian and American airlines.
3. This airline has the youngest origins of the three.
4. This airline had a joint venture with a French airline.
5. This airline is beDer known under its acronym.
6. This airline is a member of an interna5onal group.
7. This airline is the only one of the three that was not the result of a merger.
8. This airline was sold to investors by the government
9. This airline was promoted by a Hollywood film.
10. This airline has other interests in Europe.
