Briefly: BA – Iberia Link Appears Likely

Sky News is reporting this evening that British Airways and Iberia are nearing a merging.  BA’s financial woes have been well documented.  Ever since the business traveler market never rebounded to pre-9/11 numbers, the UK’s flag carrier has sought out a new normal.  In series of events that appear more frantic than planned, BA has sought connections with American Airlines, began and ended a subsidiary,and began a stop-over service out of London City (while pretending that a one-stop flight from LCY-JFK is the successor to Concorde).
by matt.hintsa

Over the past few days, BA has tendered its offer to cabin crew, inciting negative responses and, of all things, a potential strike at Christmas. To cover the bad new, though, BA does have some amazing sales which may or may not happen, given the threat of a strike.

I’m no business analyst, just a dyed-in-the-wool anglophile.  Given other mergers we’ve witnessed recently, this one appears similar.  British Airways is one of the major players in both the trans-atlantic market as well as routes to the middle east, Africa, and Asia.  Iberia, on the other hand, is known for its links from Europe to South and Central America as well as a budget airline approach to its European routes.

Will it work?  Who knows but just in case, I’m working on my espanol for Inglaterra.

Update: The Beeb is reporting deal is done and awaiting regulator approval.