British CEO ha messo i occhi su Qantas
September 7, 2010
British Airways would be interested in discussing a merger with Qantas Airways, if Australia's top airline was a willing party, BA chief executive Willie Walsh said in a newspaper interview.
The interview was published a day after British Airways and Iberia said they had identified possible acquisition targets to chase once their own merger completes, targeting Asia for expansion.
"We've done the work in our discussions with them two years ago and we know there's a strong case there -- it's definitely something that would be interesting in the future if Qantas were like-minded," BA's Walsh was quoted saying in the interview with The Australian Financial Review.
"I don't see any evidence of Alan wanting to pursue that at this stage, but that may change," he said, referring to Qantas CEO Alan Joyce.
BA and Qantas, then under chief executive Geoff Dixon, held merger talks in 2008, but Qantas called off the talks over a disagreement on the airlines' relative valuations.
Dixon's successor, Joyce, has said Qantas had its eyes on using its strong balance sheet to lead consolidation in the Asia-Pacific region.
"We have not had talks with BA on potential mergers since December 2008," a Qantas spokesman said. "We enjoy a strong relationship with both BA and Iberia, both bilaterally and as oneworld partners."
Walsh said that BA and Iberia were already looking at opportunities for further airline consolidation.
"I'll be surprised if something doesn't happen within the first year" of the merger, he said.
(Reuters)
September 7, 2010
British Airways would be interested in discussing a merger with Qantas Airways, if Australia's top airline was a willing party, BA chief executive Willie Walsh said in a newspaper interview.
The interview was published a day after British Airways and Iberia said they had identified possible acquisition targets to chase once their own merger completes, targeting Asia for expansion.
"We've done the work in our discussions with them two years ago and we know there's a strong case there -- it's definitely something that would be interesting in the future if Qantas were like-minded," BA's Walsh was quoted saying in the interview with The Australian Financial Review.
"I don't see any evidence of Alan wanting to pursue that at this stage, but that may change," he said, referring to Qantas CEO Alan Joyce.
BA and Qantas, then under chief executive Geoff Dixon, held merger talks in 2008, but Qantas called off the talks over a disagreement on the airlines' relative valuations.
Dixon's successor, Joyce, has said Qantas had its eyes on using its strong balance sheet to lead consolidation in the Asia-Pacific region.
"We have not had talks with BA on potential mergers since December 2008," a Qantas spokesman said. "We enjoy a strong relationship with both BA and Iberia, both bilaterally and as oneworld partners."
Walsh said that BA and Iberia were already looking at opportunities for further airline consolidation.
"I'll be surprised if something doesn't happen within the first year" of the merger, he said.
(Reuters)
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