Ansetts Growth
ANA, the only major airline of that time, dominated the Australian domestic airline travel sector and the Chifley Labor government was determined to establish a state-owned airline to operate all domestic and international services, but this was eventually thwarted by the High Court of Australia since the government had established TAA to operate in competition with ANA, but a decade later Ansett bought Australian National Airways, and by 1958 its fleet numbered over 40 aircraft.
Ansett Airways had been a bit player as TAA and ANA battled for supremacy in the 1950s. TAA was better managed and having superior aircraft had ANA to the verge of bankruptcy by 1957, and Ansett had operated around the big two, maintaining budget fares on its interstate operations with DC-3s and Convair CV-440s. The airline was supported by extensive road transport operations, Ansett Freight Express and Ansett-Pioneer Coaches, and the Ansair coach-building operation in Melbourne.
The Menzies Liberal government supported TAA by reason of the excellent dividends it paid to the government, but wanted to constrain TAA having a monopoly on domestic services if ANA collapsed. The only alternative was for Ansett to buy out the ANA operation, and the government was prepared to support such action. The ANA directors resisted, but eventually caved in to Ansett's offer due to lack of interested parties or buyers. Ansett's (final) offer of 3.3 million pounds (3 million of government money plus 300,000 pounds acquired from the Shell Oil Co. )for their airline. Ansett's bid had a number of financial supporters, most prominent of these being the Shell Company was finally accepted. The Douglas Aircraft Co. was also concerned about ANA's demise as ANA had preferred their aircraft. TAA had ceased to be a customer for their aircraft with the purchase of British Vickers Viscount and previously Consolidated Vultee Convairs. The new airline would be called Ansett-ANA, a name that would remain until 1968.
Ansett-ANA's excellent profit record was largely courtesy of the Menzies government's 'Two Airlines Policy' which propped up Ansett-ANA and clipped TAA's superior marketing efforts. The policy effectively blocked any other domestic interstate operators by way of a ban on importation of aircraft without a government licence. From 1957 until the 1980s Ansett and TAA operated as virtual carbon copies of each other, operating the same aircraft at the same times to the same destinations, now all governed by federal legislation.
Once in control of ANA, Reg Ansett set out to block other competitors who might challenge his airline, launching take-over bids on the Adelaide-based Guinea Airways (renamed Airlines of South Australia) and the Sydney-based Butler Air Transport (renamed Airlines of New South Wales), the later was achieved with (covert) support of the Menzies government, and by Ansett promising his employees' Butler shares, then cementing the take-over by flying his employees to the General Meeting in Sydney, forcing a vote in favour of selling out to Ansett.