British Airways exploring merger with Qantas

British Airways has revealed that it is in talks with the Australian national airline, Qantas, regarding a potential merger of the two carriers.

BA officials are saying, however, that there are no guarantees at this time that a joining-up of the airlines will occur.

In a statement released by British Airways, it was said that such a merger would occur by means of the creation of a dual-listed airline company, listed on the exchanges in both London and Australia.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Australian government indicated that it might be prepared to relax foreign ownership regulations. Currently, Australian law stipulates that Qantas must be 51 per cent Australian-owned.

The ownership by any individual foreign airline is permitted at a level of no more than 25 per cent, at this time, and a total of no more than 35 per cent may be owned by all foreign airlines involved.

Australian Transport Minister Anthony Albanese put forth a proposal on Tuesday that would maintain the 51 per cent Australian ownership requirement, but make it possible for a single foreign airline to own up to 49 per cent of the shares in the carrier.

Qantas’s future has been uncertain since the A$11 billion bid made by Airline Partners Australia (APA) last year fell apart due to lack of shareholder support.

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