British Midland is in talks on joining a global airline alliance, not up for sale, a source close to the European short-haul carrier said yesterday.
The airline, the second biggest user of slots at London's Heathrow airport, had been talking for months with Star Alliance - led by Germany's Lufthansa - with Dutch/US partners KLM and NorthWestern and with an alliance led by Delta Airlines and Air France in a bid to expand its presence in Europe's airline market, the source said.
All three global alliances were still being considered and British Midland could announce its new partners in October, he added.
British Midland, which is 40 per cent owned by Scandinavian Airlines System, is attractive to other airlines mainly because of the 200 take-off and landing slots it has every day at Heathrow, the world's busiest international airport.
British Midland is linked with 19 other airlines through code-sharing - a technique whereby two carriers carry each other's passengers on connecting services and share booking codes on computer reservation systems.
Newspapers at the weekend said Lufthansa, Air France, KLM and Virgin had expressed interest in buying British Midland in a deal thought to value the carrier at up to £1 billion. KLM, which recently clinched the closest alliance short of a merger with Italian flag carrier Alitalia, has confirmed it is in talks over British Midland's possible entry into its global alliance.
