Swissair and Sabena are to merge their management, marketing and sales operations in the UK with the loss of 12 jobs.
Sabena passenger sales manager UK and Ireland Philip Bannister and group reservation supervisor Geoff Palmer will take early redundancy, as will eight executive-level Swissair employees.
Two clerical staff have been made redundant.
Teams from both airlines will now come under a new Airline Management Company, to be set up by the end of the year and headed by Swissair general manager UK and Ireland Kirk Albrow who takes the new title of AMCgeneral manager.
Sabena general manager UK and Ireland Mark Nelis will become AMC deputy general manager, with responsibility for marketing. They will oversee a UKsales team of 45 staff.
Swissair business sales manager Sarah Built will move to the same position in AMC, while leisure sales will be headed up by Janet Morris, who is joining from BAA.
AMC will have its own office in central London and will also provide a ticket office in the City. Five more staff are to be recruited.
Nelis denied AMC was the first phase of a full merger between the two airlines.
“We have been working together for five years and now is the right time to have one organisation,” he said.
Swissair already owns a 49% stake in Sabena and both are members of the Qualiflyer alliance.
Albrow said the key reason behind the merger is to cut costs. Savings from both airlines are expected to total £100m a year worldwide.
The UK teams will be the first to merge, but similar structures are planned in all the airlines’ markets. The US is expected to be next.
Albrow said AMC will also develop e-ticketing and e-commerce business for both airlines, as well as handling global fleet purchases and leasing. It will also be putting more emphasis on lower fares to compete with no-frills carriers.
Swissair’s owner the SAir Group has bought a 10% stake in Polish airline LOT.This will increase to 37.6% by the end of the year.