(Reuters) – British Airways (BAY.L) and Iberia (IBLA.MC) have drawn up a shopping list of 12 airlines as they look to embark on a spending spree once their merger completes, with Asia seen as a key focus for expansion.
CEO Willie Walsh told reporters in Mumbai on Sunday that the two airlines, which plan to merge by the end of the year and call themselves International Airlines Group (IAG), had compiled a list of 12 potential targets following talks over expansion.
“We have had a number of meetings where we have looked at airlines around the world and identified those that would be attractive to us in joining IAG,” the BA CEO said, adding that no deals were imminent.
“This is just to give us a focus. We have not had any discussions with any airlines. There is nothing going on at the moment,” he said.
By: cloud_9 - 7th September 2010 at 17:48
How does WW intend on going “shopping” for other airlines when the princple airline is making huge losses, and what is IB’s financial situation like?
What is he saying to these mystery airlines in order to convince them that joining IAG or being bought out/merged is a good thing?
Don’t get me wrong, I am all in favour for consolidation if/where necessary, but with a guy like WW at the helm, I can only forsee danger/problems in the future.
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September 6, 2010 at 9:03 pm