Ad man hopes to have Ansett in sky once again

FANS of long-gone airline Ansett are looking for interest in resurrecting the iconic brand.

After a mysterious ad showing an Ansett plane appeared in The Age recently, the website listed on the ad received a huge spike in interest with more than 1500 views in the past week and more than 200 emails.

A form response to emails said the ad was ''exploratory - to gauge if there was [sic] any serious parties with a genuine interest in re-establishing the Ansett brand in one form or other''.

The ad was placed by advertising executive Peter Schooling, who has also registered the name Ansett Airlines of Australia. Ansett Australia, the company subject to a deed of arrangement, still owns the name Ansett.

Mr Schooling said he could not believe that such an iconic Australian name was available and was convinced the name was still held in high esteem by the travelling public despite its collapse in 2001.

He said some of the emails had been poignant, with several former Ansett flight attendants asking about the possibility of work.

Mr Schooling said he did not want to give false hope and the idea of resurrecting the airline was ''a hell of a long shot''.

In an email sent to former Ansett staff who inquired about the ad, Mr Schooling said while restarting the airline was a ''long shot'', one way this could happen was with a different ownership structure with employees owning the majority.

''The only small part I could play would be to gladly sign over … the name and livery plus provide marketing, advertising and PR support to any Australian group that demonstrated a serious intent to get the Ansett brand re-established.''