| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 02/10/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 2 |
| Copyright: Other |
Partnership update
Swissair tipped to form European alliance with BA
TRAVEL industry experts have tipped Swissair as the most likely contender to form a European partnership with BA, following the collapse of the merger deal with KLM.
During a visit to the European parliament, Guild of European Business Travel Agents secretary-general Wim Siebers said BA needed a partner to lift its European profile.
“BA’s European network is not very big and not very profitable and BA is now talking to Swissair. A deal with KLM would have eased the amount of BA traffic at Heathrow and directed it to SchipholAirport in Amsterdam,” said Siebers.
His comments were echoed by an industry source who tipped Swissair because of its Oneworld connections with UScodesharing partner American Airlines.
The source said:”BA will now need to concentrate with Oneworld. Swissair and American Airlines are already codesharing partners and a relationship seems to be building between the two.
“BA also needs a hub in Europe so it can survive the regulatory problems of having too many slots at Heathrow,” said the source.
“If it has another hub, say in Zurich, then it can divert its transfer traffic away from Heathrow.”
Meanwhile, Siebers thought it likely BA’s payment structure could roll out across Europe.