Less choice for air travellers

Air travellers now have even less choice when heading overseas after the Air New Zealand move to suspend direct flights from Sydney to LA.

"Successive Governments mounted a long-running fight to win the right to use Australia as a link to the US.

"Now, when the ground is being prepared for the Air New Zealand Qantas merger, the service is axed without so much as a whimper," says the National Party's Transport spokesman Roger Sowry.

"From next month international passengers will no longer have a United Airline option for travel to the States, this is just another sign that competition's set to suffer under the umbrella of a combined Air New Zealand Qantas," he says.

"Qantas has never been happy that Air New Zealand's been able to run the services, now they get to shut them down with no arguments.

"I'm worried that this is a sign of things to come - a rationalisation of services with the consumer as the ultimate loser," says Mr Sowry.

"With submissions on the airline alliance proposal due to close this week, I'm urging all Kiwis to have their say.

"They can also register their disgust at a National Party web-site set up to battle the deal, www.noqantas.co.nz ," Mr Sowry says.

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