Tasman Empire Airways Limited

For the colour, see Teal. For the teaching method, see Technology-enhanced active learning. For other uses, see Teal (disambiguation).

Tasman Empire Airways Limited
IATA ICAO Call sign
TE — TEAL
Founded26 April 1940 (1940-04-26)
Ceased operations1 April 1965 (1965-04-01)
(renamed Air New Zealand Limited)[1]
HubsAuckland Airport
Fleet size18
Destinations
HeadquartersAuckland, New Zealand

Tasman Empire Airways Limited (1940–1965), better known by its acronym TEAL, is the former name of Air New Zealand.[1][2]

TEAL was formed by the Intergovernmental Agreement for Tasman Sea Air Services (also known as the Tasman Sea Agreement), which is a treaty signed by the governments of the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand in London on 10 April 1940.[3] TEAL was first registered in Wellington as a limited liability company on 26 April 1940. The company's purpose was originally to transport mail, passengers, and cargo across the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, during World War II. The treaty was originally intended to end within three months after hostilities with Germany ended, but it was extended in 1949[4] and ultimately ended on 31 March 1954,[5] with control and ownership passing into normal commercial arrangements.

Shares in the company were originally held by the New Zealand Government (20%), Union Airways (19%), BOAC (38%) and Qantas (23%). After World War II shareholding passed to equal ownership by New Zealand and Australian Government . Four Short Sandringham aircraft and Short Solent aircraft were acquired, as well as an ex-Royal New Zealand Air Force Consolidated PBY Catalina for survey flights.

  1. ^ a b New Zealand Companies Office, Certificate of Incorporation: Air New Zealand Limited (PDF)
  2. ^ "T.E.A.L. Renamed Air New Zealand". The Press. Vol. 104, no. 30654. 21 January 1965. p. 1.
  3. ^ The United Kingdom; The Commonwealth of Australia; The Dominion of New Zealand (1940), Intergovernmental Agreement for Tasman Sea Air Services
  4. ^ The United Kingdom; The Commonwealth of Australia; The Dominion of New Zealand (1949), Inter-Governmental Agreement for the Continued Operation of the Regular Services Between Australia and New Zealand by Tasman Empire Airways Limited
  5. ^ The United Kingdom; The Commonwealth of Australia; The Dominion of New Zealand (1956), Exchange of Notes Constituting an Agreement Terminating the Inter-Governmental Agreement for the Continued Operation of the Regular Services Between Australia and New Zealand by Tasman Empire Airways Limited of 15 September 1949