'Hurdles' to BA and Qantas tie-up

THERE ARE "significant hurdles" to a tie-up between British Airways and Qantas, and the situation has become more difficult after news of the talks leaked last week, the Australian airline's new chief executive said yesterday.

Alan Joyce said the hurdles to the deal included BA's pension liabilities, the split in the merger ratio that would define each airlines' economic interest, and the current economic environment.

In the Irish-born executive's first public comments since taking the helm at the Australian carrier last month, Mr Joyce ruled out a three-way deal including Iberia, the Spanish airline that is also in talks with the British carrier.

"BA and Iberia and us are all conscious that only one of the transactions can take place," he said. "We are exploring a potential merger with British Airways via a dual-listed company structure. We are in these discussions because a merger has the potential to create the global scale that would allow us to grow and enhance our services, and deliver significant revenue and costs synergies."

It was "not appropriate" to discuss the timing of any potential deal or whether Qantas would take a lead role in the merger, he told an Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce lunch in Sydney.

Fernando Conte, Iberia's chief executive, last week said BA must choose between the Spanish carrier and Qantas as it would be "too complex" for the British carrier to pursue both deals. - ( Financial Timesservice)