British Airways is well known in the Denver market with their non-stop flights to London is merging with the lesser known Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España SA more commonly known as Iberia Airways, the national airlines of Spain. The combined airlines would generate approximately $20 Billion in annual revenue.
The new combined airline would be the 7th largest in the world based on passenger traffic of 62 million passengers on 419 airplanes. United States based (and Denver Hub Airline) United Airlines is ranked 6th on the world.
The combined airline will continue to operate as branded entities and operations with British Airways maintaining a hub in London and Iberia with a hub in Madrid, Spain,
Airline mergers have become somewhat commonplace in Europe including Lufthansa absorbing or partnering with Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and BMI also known as British Midlands. The merged Air France/KLM entity has taken a minority state in Alitalia (Italy).
The last major merger in the United States concerning airlines was Delta and Northwest. Delta is the number one airline in the world based on passenger traffic with 121 million passengers annually.
For Denver travelers, the merger may provide easier one stop access to the hubs of Iberia in Spain. BA operates a daily nonstop between Denver and London’s Heathrow on a Boeing 777.
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