Potential merger partners British Airways and Iberia will form the third-largest carrier group in terms of revenue, after Air France-KLM and Lufthansa.
The two European carriers revealed last week they are exploring an all-share merger, which they claim will create one of the largest international aviation groups. BA says the new entity will boast a combined fleet of 443 aircraft, around 65 million passengers and 64,500 employees.
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BA chief executive Willie Walsh and Iberia chairman and chief executive Fernando Conte have labelled the Oneworld partners' planned tie-up as "a merger between equals", rather than a takeover.
BA and Iberia rank as the eighth and 21st largest carriers in terms of revenues, according to the latest airline rankings performed by Flight International's sister publication Airline Business. If BA's $17.6 billion turnover is combined with Iberia's $7.6 billion, the airlines' joint revenues will total $25.2 billion.
This places them as the third largest carrier group by revenue, pushing FedEx down to fourth position and Oneworld alliance partner American Airlines' parent AMR to fifth place.
BA operates around 760 daily flights to more than 140 destinations, using its fleet of 245 aircraft. Iberia's network comprises 109 destinations, which it serves with more than 1,000 daily flights and has a 198-strong fleet
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Should the deal come to fruition, a new holding company will acquire both BA and Iberia and the two airlines will exchange their shares for shares in their new parent. Following the transaction the two companies will continue to operate under their existing brands.
Iberia says that the tie-up "won't be the same as Air France-KLM, because Air France increased its capital in order to integrate KLM and this is not the case because this is a merger between equals".
Source: Flight International
