Ansett Airlines on Wednesday acquired the final Hazelton family shareholding, some two million shares at $1.35 each, taking its total ownership of the regional carrier to 35.5 per cent.

Max Hazelton, the founder of the airline, declined to comment on the latest developments.

Mr Hazelton initially sold a 20 per cent stake in the airline to Ansett at 90 cents per share, prompting a bidding war between Ansett and Qantas for Hazelton Airlines.

Qantas owns a 20 per cent stake in Hazeltons.

The main prize for the company that wins control of Hazeltons is more than 450 landing slots at SydneyChr(39)s Kingsford Smith Airport.

Hazelton is the third largest user of the airport and both Ansett and Qantas would like to convert landing slots allocated to regional flights into slots for use by major domestic and international flights.

A lesser prize is some 250,000 passengers a year who fly into Sydney via Hazeltons to meet connecting flights to other parts of Australia.

Stockbroker Steven Perry, who works with Orange-based ABN Amro Morgans Ltd, said the market was expecting the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to make a ruling on the takeover bids very soon.

Indeed, the ACCC moved to ensure regional passengers were not disadvantaged by any takeover of Hazelton, its merger specialist Ross Jones said.

He warned that Qantas and Ansett that neither airline maybe able to take over Hazelton.

Mr Jones said it was up to the airlines to look at proposals for assisting new entry or to maintain services in regional areas after any acquisition of Hazelton.

"One of our concerns, for example, was that those (regional) slots may be used out of peak periods and replaced, say, by trunks and so that what might happen then is that regional services would be shifted into the less convenient times of the day," he said.