The merged British Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia joined the London Stock Exchange at 8am this morning as the new International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) entered the FTSE 100 group of companies.
Trading in BA shares was suspended on Friday morning. The merged airline is now listed in both London and Madrid. Together BA and Iberia comprise the world’s sixth-biggest airline with a market value of £5.5 billion and annual sales of £11.5 billion. The two airlines will be run as separate brands, with parent IAG looking to expand through takeovers or stakes in other carriers.
The merger was two years in the making and is forecast to save the pair £344 million a year within five years. The savings are important. BA may be among the world’s leading airlines, but it reported losses of £931 million over the last two financial years.
Former BA chief executive Willie Walsh heads IAG, with former Iberia chief Antonio Vazquez as chairman and Keith Williams, the UK carrier’s former chief financial officer, in charge of BA.
Walsh will appear at his first IAG board meeting in Madrid, the merged the airline’s headquarters, on Tuesday.
The board meeting will no doubt lead to fresh speculation on potential airline targets for merger with IAG, after Walsh said last year he had a list of 12 carriers he was considering to buy or partner. However, the first issue for BA will be the renewed threat of strike action by cabin crew.
Members of the Unite union have voted for strikes in a ballot that ended on Friday and the union will announce action within 28 days unless there is a settlement. The cabin crew struck on 22 days last year, in a dispute that appeared close to being settled in the autumn but has cast an early cloud over the merged carrier.
Walsh’s potential takeover list is believed to include Finnair, TAP Air Portugal, SAS, Air Berlin and, possibly, EasyJet.