oneworld partners British Airways and Iberia have applied to the European Commission (EC) for antitrust immunity to deepen their relationship on routes between Spain and the UK, as well as across their networks.
With the commercial agreement they have signed, the carriers want to take on the "vigorous" competition they face from the full service, no-frills and charter carriers. When fully developed, the pact will see joint network planning, the co-ordination of capacity, pricing and sales and marketing, more codesharing, and the co-ordination of cargo services.
The UK-Spain market is one of the most competitive in Europe, says BA. The two national carriers have a combined 59% share of services on the London-Madrid route and 44% on London-Barcelona. However, according to current OAG data, the rival easyJet/Go operation now has around 41% of overall flights between the two countries against just under 45% for BA and Iberia.
"Our proposal for closer co-operation is a competitive response to the changing and challenging market environment and marks a step forward in our efforts to progress consolidation in Europe," said BA chief executive Rod Eddington and Iberia chairman Xabier de Irala in a joint statement.
Source: Airline Business
