BA and Iberia merger

[jmmen]

It was a move that a lot of people has foreseen, now is reality, British Airways and Iberia merger.

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/pu ... 3907.shtml

[Dennis]

Ah ah. Slow your horses. It's only a preliminary agreement.

Also there is one veto which has been reserved by Iberia, and that is if British Airways fail to reach an agreement with the unions. B.A. still has to negotiate the details of a pensions plan worth 3 billion €.

After that, it has to be cleared by EU regulators and local authorities before the merger takes place. Similar to the Delta/Northwest merger.

I bet Ryanair is looking forward to this merger. If it goes through, then they have a good excuse to takeover Aer Lingus.

[jmmen]

In this moment, I think, Iberia is no position to hold back that merger, their last report shows losses, so, they need this merger more than BA.

[Northwestdc9]

I think they both need this merger, both airlines are loosing money and their competitive edges.
Act of desperation if you ask me. Good luck to both of them!

[jmmen]

Now, the rumor goes thicker, I heard this morning on the news, that AA is a new element in this mix, does somebody has heard something about this?

[Dennis]

Well, AA is kinda hoping something with BA similar to CO/UA. The thing is that if it happens, they would literally dominate the transatlantic market. How many JFK-LHR flights does BA have alone? AA? Imagine them both...

[jmmen]

What I expect is KMIA to be use as a second port to/from flights from Europe. At the beginning it sounds to be a good move, but be aware, to what happen to the big auto makers, they grow so big, that at the end, their own size kill them. Hope this is not the case, but they have the odds against them.

[Northwestdc9]

Well, AA is kinda hoping something with BA similar to CO/UA. The thing is that if it happens, they would literally dominate the transatlantic market. How many JFK-LHR flights does BA have alone? AA? Imagine them both...

They would be pretty much tied with DL/NW/AF/KL/AZ, it's the London market they would dominate. DOJ wouldn't like that very much but it's probably fair. DL/NW/et al have AMS, CDG and Italy.