KEY POINTS:
Air New Zealand might be disappointed if British Airways could pull off a merger with Qantas where it couldn't, but probably won't be worried about competition from a megacarrier across the Tasman, says an aviation analyst.
The merger did sound more like consolidation rather than a move to take on the likes of Air New Zealand, said Forsyth Barr analyst Rob Mercer.
Competition would be positive and he did not think Air NZ would be vulnerable as it already competed with carriers Singapore, Cathay, Qantas and Emirates here.
Air NZ would be disappointed if a merger was successful, given its efforts to merge with Qantas in the past and the national carrier had limited ability to do a similar thing.
It was too early to speculate how such a BA Qantas merger might work. BA is already in talks with Spain's national carrier Iberia for a merger.
"It's too hard to draw those sorts of conclusions out of a process that's just beginning and it's going to have quite a few hurdles to overcome," Mercer said.
"The environment might be completely different by the time they get to that point."
Mercer said the failed merger talks with Air New Zealand and Qantas took forever, and Qantas and BA would have to appease all the interested parties that would want to have a say.
Blue Oar Securities airline analyst Douglas McNeill said BA's latest move was in line with its strategy of taking a lead in consolidation.
"They are out to create a global player, which is an audacious goal that would be difficult for any management team to pull off," he said.
- NZPA
