British Airways and Qantas have abandoned talks on a merger barely two weeks after announcing negotiations were in progress.
In a statement today, the pair announced: “The airlines have not been able to come to agreement over the key terms of a merger at this time.”
BA continues to discuss a potential merger with Iberia, and the breakdown with Qantas follows criticism from the Spanish carrier of BA’s pursuit of more than one merger partner at a time. News of the BA-Qantas discussions broke on December 2 after a leak in Australia, but the talks began in August just after BA also announced a potential deal with Iberia.
Analysts were sceptical about the benefits of a merger between BA and Qantas, despite BA’s claim it would benefit passengers, shareholders and staff. They also queried whether a three-way tie-up with Iberia would be possible, as BA suggested.
The statements by BA and Qantas said the pair would “continue to work together on their joint business between the UK and Australia and as part of the Oneworld alliance.”