Iberia Chairman Tries to Seal the British Airways Merger

www.iberia.com

The brand new chairman of Iberia, Antonio Vazquez Romero, has now pledged to seal the proposed merger with British Airways. He says that his aim is to close the deal between the Spanish and British flag carriers after almost a year of dragging.

Antonio says that he has come to Iberia with the main goal of closing the deal with British Airways. He went on to say that negotiations cannot be dragged out much longer. Antonio was named the chairman of Iberia just earlier this week and is replacing Fernando Conte, who vacated the top job with the official statement that he just wanted to step down before his 60^th birthday next year. However, according to company sources, he was ousted because of a lack of progress in the merger talks with British Airways.

The negotiations between the two well known carriers have ground to a halt over their failure to agree on a number of issues. This includes the command structures and the extent of integration. Right now British Airways owns about 10 percent of Iberia and has a seat on its board. Thus, British Airways is aware of Mr Conte’s departure from the company.

The chief executive of British Airways, Willie Walsh, said that he was confident that the new chairman’s business and leadership will ensure that the relationship between the two carriers will develop. He said that British Airways looks forward to working with him on all matters, including continuing merger discussions. British Airways looks forward to moving forward on the deal just as much as Iberia.

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