Heads of British Airways and American Airlines comment on merger

This marks the third time that British Airways and American Airlines have requested antitrust immunity from both the United States and the European Union.  This time the two major airlines are also partnering with Iberia as well.   The Chief Executives of the three companies got together to talk about their merger and Virgin Atlantic’s Richard Branson who vehemently has spoken out against the merger.

Gerard Arpey who is the Chief Executive of American Airlines spoke about his long history with the company and the previous attempts to partner with British Airways.  He said “I was there even before that [the 1996 merger attempt], when we had the very first meetings between Colin Marshall and Bob Crandall,” he said.  We have waited until the time is right, and there is now no rational reason why this shouldn’t go ahead.”

Richard Branson said of the merger: “BA and American would have a combination of a trans-Atlantic network that could not be replicated and a frequent flyer program that would make it impossible for other carriers to compete for time-sensitive corporate or business travelers. The alliance partners will be able to use their leverage on routes where there is little or no competition to tie in consumers on routes where there are plenty of other alternatives. This would inevitably lead to a reduction of choice and higher prices for consumers.”

Disputing Branson’s claims is Willie Walsh, the Chief Executive for British Airways: “Just because this might be bad for Richard Branson doesn’t mean it is bad for British consumers or the British economy. In fact it is good for consumers and the economy.”

www.britishairways.com

www.aa.com

www.iberia.com

www.virgin-atlantic.com