IB says may end up with AF or LH!
Dec 1, 2006, 2:51 am
#16
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: London, UK
Posts: 5,105
Today's Lex column says BA should go for it (IB)!
British Airways Plc shouldn't hesitate to explore a merger with Spain's Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA, or it risks losing out on becoming a big player in Europe, the Financial Times said today in its ``Lex'' column.
British Airways owns a 10 percent share of the Spanish
airline, and Chief Financial Officer Enrique Dupuy said this
week that BA had not put a high priority on the connection, according to the FT. He said the airline might consider links with Air France-KLM and Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the column said.
If the ``open skies'' agreement is signed between the
European Union and the U.S., big mergers will be routine, the column said. A few airlines will dominate, and the rest will get swallowed up, the FT said.
British Airways Plc shouldn't hesitate to explore a merger with Spain's Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA, or it risks losing out on becoming a big player in Europe, the Financial Times said today in its ``Lex'' column.
British Airways owns a 10 percent share of the Spanish
airline, and Chief Financial Officer Enrique Dupuy said this
week that BA had not put a high priority on the connection, according to the FT. He said the airline might consider links with Air France-KLM and Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the column said.
If the ``open skies'' agreement is signed between the
European Union and the U.S., big mergers will be routine, the column said. A few airlines will dominate, and the rest will get swallowed up, the FT said.
Dec 1, 2006, 12:32 pm
#20
Join Date: Mar 2002
Programs: QF Platinum (OW Emerald); QF Lifestime Silver; BD Diamond Club Gold (*A Gold)
Posts: 4,786
BA joining *A would be a disaster for Europe (count your OW partners on the fingers of barely one hand - AY which only has coverage to / from Scandinavia - and soon MA with coverage in the eastern European markets. The emerging strength with *A is its Euro coverage. Perhaps OW is re-positioning as a purely longhaul-focused alliance. Contrast this with the coverage of LH, LX, JK, TP - but then maybe the move here is on offloading unprofitable intra-Euro routes. I dunno but for OW the defection would spell bad news...
Dec 1, 2006, 1:38 pm
#22
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 11,924
But the good news for OW is that I don't actually have any desire to fly on any of the above mentioned airlines.
Dec 1, 2006, 8:13 pm
#23
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 9,916
I just flew LX JFK-GVA on Monday night in J -- while the service was good and the meal was fine, the seat was totally 90s and not very comfortable...hard to believe LX used to be a top airline.
Dec 2, 2006, 4:58 am
#25
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Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London and Zurich
Programs: AA, BA, Mucci: Sir Roger des Directions Routières, PCR
Posts: 13,609
Dec 2, 2006, 5:11 am
#26
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: USA, Europe
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Dec 2, 2006, 5:30 am
#27
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: London, UK
Posts: 5,105
It has been known for 2 months that Aer Lingus will withdraw in April next year http://www.oneworld.com/ow/news/deta...f=1&showhtml=0. Plus I hardly think the OW alliance will come tumbling down for want of EI!
Dec 2, 2006, 5:46 am
#28
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Location: London and Zurich
Programs: AA, BA, Mucci: Sir Roger des Directions Routières, PCR
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It has been known for 2 months that Aer Lingus will withdraw in April next year http://www.oneworld.com/ow/news/deta...f=1&showhtml=0. Plus I hardly think the OW alliance will come tumbling down for want of EI!In a poor competitive situation.
Dec 2, 2006, 6:35 am
#29
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 11,924
JL more than compensates for CP
Then there's RJ which will be good for a few more dodgy destinations.
Where does that leave OW? Back where it was when CP was an airline, and EI.. was an airline.
Dec 2, 2006, 7:01 am
#30
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 7,903
Is this the end of *A??!!!
Do you honestly think IB is leaving? That news article on the topic was, well, very Spanish.