Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Qantas in talks to buy charter airline -sources

Qantas was in advanced negotiations with Network Aviation which specialises in flying mining workers in and out of remote locations, the sources said, confirming a report in The Australian Financial Review.

"Qantas is in due diligence, the timing is still uncertain," one source said of the deal, although they added the talks were well advanced.

Perth-based Network Aviation competes with London-listed Cobham Plc (COB.L

) subsidiary National Jet and SkyWest Airlines.

Qantas, which faces stiff competition on its domestic routes and is chasing organic growth in Asia as regulatory obstacles make large-scale mergers difficult, is keen to increase its exposure to Western Australia's resources boom.

A Qantas spokeswoman declined to comment on the deal but said the airline was always looking at new business opportunities.

Qantas shares were trading 0.4 percent weaker at A$2.80 at 0453 GMT, in line with a weaker overall market.

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