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BA-Iberia merger delayed due to slow seat sales

BA-Iberia merger delayed due to slow seat sales The impending merger of British Airways (BA) and Spanish carrier Iberia has been delayed due to declining passenger numbers, according to reports.

It was announced in August that BA and Iberia would merge to create Europe's biggest airline in terms of passenger numbers.

Willie Walsh, BA chief executive, revealed that the deal between the two airlines is taking more time because of a drop in passenger demand in the US and Europe.

BA experienced a 4.8 per cent fall in passenger numbers during September and an 8.6 per cent drop in premium long-haul customers.

Mr Walsh told AFP: "I can say that the merger will take longer than expected — especially due to the problems of the sector, which have forced us to focus more on our business than on the deal."

BA expects that the merger will not now be completed until the middle of next year as the aviation industry deals with high fuel prices and slow demand.


In other news, BA has taken the decision to close its cabin crew base at Glasgow Airport in Scotland in order to move the operation to London Heathrow, reports The Scotsman.

The decision was taken on grounds of increasing levels of efficiency, but will involve 138 members of staff either relocating or taking voluntary redundancy.

Mr Walsh took the opportunity to stress that "we are the biggest operator of flights from Scotland" and added that "there are no plans to reduce our services".


Airport News posted on 08 October 2008

Comments

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BA / Iberia Merger

Wonder if by next year the whole premise of the Iberia deal will seem financially unattractive? Think the AA deal is far more significant.

Comment posted by Anonymous on 09/10/2008 09:42:00

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