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British Airways, American Airlines and Spanish carrier Iberia have signed off on a long-awaited strategic alliance that will see them cooperate on flights between Europe and North America.

The three airlines won approval from the U.S. government and the European Union to work together in July.

Faced with mounting competition from low-cost, no-frills upstarts, the notoriously low-margin airline industry has been going through a period of rapid consolidation and analysts say American Airlines needs a merger partner if it is to keep up amid a wave of mergers in its home market.

source: Reuters.com

British Airways has changed its longstanding policy of banning lone male travellers from sitting next to unaccompanied children on its flights.

The airline had been sued by a traveller who said the policy was discriminatory – something BA denied. The case was settled and BA agreed to a review. From now on, unaccompanied children will be seated in a special area on BA planes.

In the UK, it is up to individual airlines to decide on how to treat unaccompanied minors.

source: BBC News

American Airlines and British Airways  won final approval on Tuesday to expand a trans-Atlantic alliance on flights between the United States and Europe.

The two carriers were cleared to jointly set prices, sell tickets and schedule international flights through their Oneworld alliance, exempt from antitrust rules, the United States Transportation Department said in a statement.

“‘The transaction will not substantially reduce or eliminate competition,’” Susan Kurland, assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs, wrote in an order. The deal “‘will not be adverse to the public interest.’”

The Transportation Department had given tentative approval to the alliance on Feb. 13, and the European Union granted approval on July 13.

source: nytimes.com

British Airways and Iberia this week won the European Union’s  regulatory approval to merge and to team up with American Airlines to  share more of their lucrative trans-Atlantic routes.

The companies  say the two deals will help them cut costs and survive a tough business  climate as they struggle with falling passenger numbers and industrial  unrest.

British Airways’ merger with Iberia will create Europe’s  third-largest airline with a market value of around $7.5 billion. They  will keep their existing brand identities and claim the deal will create  savings of euro400 million ($530 million) a year by the fifth year.

source: Associated Press

A regulatory hitch saw British Airways and Iberia miss the deadline they had set to sign a definitive merger agreement yesterday on their plan to create Europe’s third-largest airline group.

While the boards of both airlines remain committed to the merger – first announced in November, their plans to list a new holding company in both London and Madrid have run into trouble, according to people with knowledge of the process.

One of the major hurdles to the completion of the deal is BA’s £3.7bn pension scheme deficit.

source: FT.com

BMI is offering perks to executive travellers switching to its flights from strike-hit British Airways. It is hoping to tempt lucrative business class travellers away from its  rival by offering to match any frequent flyer membership.

Travellers displaying BA silver or gold cards will be offered the BMI equivalents. These offer benefits such as free upgrades and access to exclusive  airport lounges.

source: BBC News

British Airways said Tuesday it is canceling fewer flights through an upcoming four-day cabin crew strike because more employees want to cross the picket line.

The airline is still recovering from a three-day strike that ended Monday, in which the Unite union — locked in a long-standing dispute with airline management over pay and working conditions — went ahead with a walkout after talks collapsed at the end of last week.

The airline said that during the cabin crew’s next strike from Saturday to March 30 its schedule at London’s Heathrow airport will include up to 55 percent of short-haul flights and 70 percent of long-haul flights.

source: Business Week

British Airways’ cabin crew have voted for strike action over two consecutive weekends in March: a three-day walkout March 20-22 and a four-day walkout March 27-30.

The strikes will involve 12,000 flight attendants and will affect more than half a million BA passengers. As promised, there will be no strikes over the Easter period, but further strike action will take place after April 14 if no deal has been reached by then.

source: OnTheShow.com

America last night gave the green light to British Airways’ tie-up with American Airlines, bringing to an end a 12-year quest by the UK airline to win approval for the deal.

The US Department of Justice said that the pact would be good for consumers, bringing lower fares, new routes and improved schedules. It agreed to give the airlines’ immunity from US anti-trust laws if they surrendered four pairs of runway slots at Heathrow ” a much lower number than expected.

The two carriers are now set to combine their transatlantic divisions, creating a giant operation that will account for just under half of all UK-US traffic, and one quarter of all EU-US passengers.

source: Times Online

British Airways and Iberia could seal their merger agreement as early as next month, according to the Spanish carrier’s biggest shareholder, savings bank Caja Madrid.

The regional bank’s chairman Miguel Blesa gave no hint that strike threats by BA’s cabin crew were having any impact on the planned marriage.

source: dailymail.co.uk