Iberia executive suggests could break with BA

[JohnK]

Could be some bad news for OneWorld!

Iberia executive suggests could break with BA
Thu Nov 30, 2006 12:09 PM GMT

MADRID (Reuters) - Iberia could break a seven-year alliance with British Airways and join another group, the Spanish airline's finance and strategy director suggested in an newspaper interview on Thursday.


Enrique Dupuy de Lome told Expansion newspaper that Iberia did not feel tied to British Airways and could make a good partner for Air France KLM, the world's largest carrier by revenue, or for Lufthansa.
"In a marriage you need two parties, and Iberia and British Airways' priorities have not always been the same," Dupuy de Lome was quoted as saying, adding that Iberia was not at the top of BA's priority list. BA owns 10 percent of Iberia.

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[JohnK]

Here is another article contradicting the original!

Iberia Not Seeking BA Alliance Breakup

November 30, 2006

Spanish airline Iberia's chairman knocked down a newspaper report on Thursday that suggested a breakup of a seven-year alliance with British Airways, saying it was a "bad interpretation."

"We are very satisfied to have British Airways as shareholders," said Fernando Conte, who is also chief executive at Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana, during an event in Mexico's Cancun beach resort in the Caribbean.

"It has been a bad interpretation," he said. "British Airways is an extremely important shareholder, with 10 percent."

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