As I posted on this thread 03/10/2012 21:14 GMT. It is very good news and hope Al Baker becomes far more involved with BA/IB, starting by picking up the 12% stake/shares owned by Bankia.
As an aside, the IAG share price hardly moved on the announcement day – there was a reasonable increase in days prior to the announcement. The SEC element of the FSA needs to investigate as there appears to be insiders at work.
I agree it is a great addition. Good for many reasons but I am sure not all members will be jumping with joy. Of the big 3, Qatar is the best option. And if they did buy some shares in IAG, maybe this would force them to raise standards drive some ambition.
Interesting that Etihad is not only code sharing but going to enable reciprocal FFP to join up with KLM / AF! Co-incidental that the announcements come the same time, so Qatar and Etihad jump into different camps, and Emirates stands strongly on their own.
Does this mean Etihad will join Skyteam? In all but name it will…it certainly is much more than a codeshare, with a 10 year plan, and reciprocal FFP benefits.
The Alliances are getting very tight now, and Airlines are having to choose one of the 3, or be left out… As they have bought equity in other Airlines, such as Virgin Australia, could this lead the Virgin Groups into Skyteam?
