LONDON, Jul 06, 2008 (Thomson Financial via COMTEX) -- BAIRY | Quote | Chart |
News |
PowerRating -- British Airways Plc is poised to unveil a transatlantic alliance
with AMR
Corp unit American Airlines and Iberia of Spain, with an announcement expected
at the
airline's annual meeting on July 15, according to The Observer.
The newspaper did not name its sources, but said three days later, executives
from the
companies will meet US transportation secretary Mary Peters to seek anti-trust
immunity.

Analysts say the tie-up between BA, headed by Willie Walsh, and AA could pave
the way
for a full merger once US foreign ownership rules are liberalised, according to
the article.

Iberia has been brought in relatively late in the negotiations, which have been
dragging on
for months. But terms have now been agreed that will see the airlines share
ticketing,
fares, marketing and the purchasing of fuel and aircraft, the newspaper said.

Any deal would lead to economies of scale and enable the three airlines to
cross-sell
tickets to business customers on highly profitable routes between western Europe
and
North America, it added.

An agreement has been spurred by the introduction of Open Skies, which allows
more
national carriers to fly between the US and major European centres. Other
factors at play
are the soaring cost of fuel and the deteriorating economic climate.