News: BA merger talks with Qantas collapse
Flights > News > # 2030 (19/12/2008)
Merger talks between British Airways and the Australian national carrier Qantas have collapsed.
Qantas said that following "detailed discussions" the two carriers could not reach an agreement on the "key terms" of the proposed £3.6bn deal that the airlines have been trying to hammer out in recent weeks.
The merger was strongly opposed by Australian unions, who argued it would affect the jobs of several thousand employees. Qantas had argued a deal with BA would help it save on maintenance costs and weather the global financial downturn.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce warned last week that the merger faced major hurdles and would only go ahead if Qantas could secure major revenue and cost benefits.
Today both the airlines said that "Qantas and BA will continue to work together on their joint businesses between Australia and the UK as part of the Oneworld alliance."
Qantas has previously said that should the talks with BA fail, the carrier might seek to strike a similar deal with an Asian rival.
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