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Cabin crew at British Airways on Friday voted to strike again as the two-year battle between the airline and its staff continues.

However, the Unite union, which represents cabin crew, fell short of announcing strike dates as it looks to downplay the move because public sympathy is waning. The lack of certainty of when industrial action could take place could dent overall bookings with the airline.

The news comes on the day that British Airways completes its merger with Spain’s Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA. Shares in both companies were suspended Friday, and the merged entity, International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, will begin trading in London and Madrid Monday.

source: The Wall Street Journal

American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia are adding more codeshare flights to their trans-Atlantic joint business.

The three airlines teamed up in October to cooperate on trans-Atlantic services without violating U.S. foreign ownership laws. BA combined with Iberia this year to create Europe’s third-largest airline.

Under codeshare agreements, carriers can sell tickets on each other’s flights and frequent flyers can claim points. Airlines say codesharing lets passengers shop around for cheaper fares.

source: Bloomberg

British Airways‘ top executives are poised to receive hefty pay rises once the airline’s planned merger with Iberia is finalised.

Willie Walsh, chief executive, will see his base pay rise from £735,000 to £825,000 ($1.3m) a year, according to merger documents released as part of the deal, which will be voted on by shareholders in each airline on November 29.

Mr Walsh is to leave BA to become chief executive of the new International Airlines Group holding company, which will own BA and Iberia

source: FT.com

Iberia is growing in Barcelona. In the next summer season, the Spanish airline will operate direct transatlantic flights from the city to Miami and São Paulo. To bring traffic to these flights, Iberia is transforming El Prat airport into a genuine hub for flights by Vueling and Iberia Regional Air Nostrum.

In addition, for passengers on the new flights from Barcelona to Miami and São Paulo, Iberia has a thick web of connections to distribute this traffic throughout the Americas: from Miami to other U.S. and Central American cities via code shares with American Airlines; and from São Paulo to the rest of Brazil and cites of the southern cone of South American with the Gol company, under a new code share agreement that is now being negotiated, and with other airlines in the region.

source: travelio.net

British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia have launched their long-awaited transatlantic tie-up by adding four new routes to their combined network and pledging to create jobs and cut fares.

The revenue-sharing deal, dismissed as a “‘monster monopoly'” by Virgin Atlantic founder Sir Richard Branson, will give passengers access to a joint network serving 433 destinations in 105 countries.

source: telegraph.co.uk

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 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

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

British Airways Plc agreed to a $7 billion merger with Spanish carrier Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA, ending more than a year of talks on a tie-up aimed at fighting a slump in travel and closing the gap with competitors.

Under the all-share deal, British Airways investors will own about 55 per cent of the business, to be led by Willie Walsh, the UK carrier’s chief executive.

British Airways needs a bigger network to compete with larger rivals Air France-KLM Group and Deutsche Lufthansa AG. The combination will meld the UK company’s web of US routes with Iberia’s Latin America services, extending its leading position in the lucrative trans-Atlantic market and consolidating its status as Europe’s third-largest airline.

source: business-standard.com