Talks on British-American Airline Link to Resume Anytime Soon

The new head of British Airways has hinted that BA is to revive cooperation talks with American Airlines on. BA chief executive, Willie Walsh, has told a London newspaper that he wants to explore how the two airlines could work more closely together.

“We have an excellent relationship with American,” said Walsh in an interview with the Observer newspaper.

BA has courted American twice in the past, and are partners in the One World Alliance. “They set themselves apart from other carriers. It is well documented that we would like to have had antitrust immunity for American and that would have benefited American and our customers. But the price that was asked was too high.”

A proposed code-sharing agreement between AA and BA fell through in 2001 over concerns by the US regulators about market dominance on transatlantic routes and their demand for slots at Heathrow to be opened up to competitors. The two airlines account for over half of flights between Heathrow and US gateways. United and Virgin Atlantic also operate transatlantic routes from London.

American Airlines has carried over 74 million passengers so far this year, compared with BA´s 19 million since April. And yet American´s parent company made a loss of $761 million (£432 million) last year, compared with BA´s operating profit of £530 million.