Iberia's Conte concerned over BA/Qantas negotiations

British Airways faces some turbulence in its bid to take major equity stakes in both Iberia and Qantas, with IB CEO Fernando Conte claiming that BA's ambitions are "too complex."

Speaking Wednesday at an Aviation Club lunch in London, Conte reportedly argued that it would be "more reasonable" and "more rational" for BA to focus on intra-continental consolidation before trying to strike a transcontinental deal. He also revealed that BA CEO Willie Walsh told him about the Qantas discussions only an hour before the UK carrier publicly confirmed them.

"I do believe in global consolidation, but at this point, from a regulatory point of view and maybe a political one, we are still not prepared for that," Conte said. "I can tell you very sincerely that Qantas is a brilliant company. However, I think a merger or collaboration within the EU is a totally different scenario from one between companies on different continents."

He said he did not have "too much information" about the BA/QF discussions and plans to meet with Walsh in order "to clarify what we are talking about." The oneworld partners confirmed merger talks in July. IB controls 9.9% of BA, which in turn holds 13.2% of IB. Iberia insiders have said the Spanish carrier is far from happy with BA as IB has rebuffed overtures from Lufthansa and Air France KLM in order to pursue the BA equity tie-up (ATWOnline July 30).

In Australia, editorial and public opinion appears firmly against a merger (ATWOnline, Dec. 4), while speculation has erupted in Malaysia that Malaysia Airlines also may be involved in talks with BA and QF.

Reports of talks between QF and MAS were not denied by the latter, which remained coy on the subject of consolidation. "We are in talks with a number of airlines on collaborating and creating synergies for growth. This ranges from joint ventures and codeshares to interlining partnerships," MAS CEO Idris Jala told The Malaysian Insider.