In 1940, TEAL was founded. Its first flights were from Auckland to Sydney and Wellington. Later, flights to Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti and the Cook Islands were added. The Australian government bought 50% of TEAL in 1953. The remaining 50% was owned by the Government of New Zealand. In 1961, the airline became completely owned by the Government of New Zealand. "TEAL" was officially renamed "Air New Zealand" on April 1, 1965. The airline bought Douglas DC-8 airplanes in July 1965. These were used for longer routes to Honolulu and Los Angeles. A larger Boeing 747 was bought in 1981. Air New Zealand bought Ansett Australia in 2000. Ansett later went out of business.