Odds on for next BA takeover
Bookmakers are taking bets on which airline British Airways and Iberia will acquire first next year.
They have released odds on a number of airlines after BA chief executive Willie Walsh said there were 12 targets in his sights.
Speaking in Mumbai at the unveiling of a codeshare deal with India’s Kingfisher Airlines, Walsh said the two airlines have drawn up a shortlist of airlines to buy or merge with once their own tie-up has been completed.
Bookmakers Paddypower said Chile’s flag carrier LAN Airlines has emerged as the early favourite at odds of 9/4.
BA’s Oneworld alliance partner Cathay Pacific followed at 11/4, then JAL at 10/3 and Finnair at 7/2.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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