AAflyer
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This is from USA Today travel section.
AA, BA headed for a merger? New British Airways CEO Willie Walsh says he wants to reopen talks with American Airlines about cementing closer ties between the global giants. Walsh, who took over as CEO just last week, says he would like BA and AA to be able to coordinate flight schedules and ticket pricing, reports The Observer of London. The paper also writes that Walsh's comments "could be the first step towards reviving the idea of a full merger between the two carriers." The carriers have tried closely linking their operations twice before, but both times have been denied by U.S. regulators over competition concerns and access to London's Heathrow Airport. Meanwhile, Forbes quotes The Financial Mail as saying Walsh has already met with AA CEO Gerard Arpey "on a number of occasions in America over the past five months" and that the pair have "already re-opened merger talks." Outside of The Mail's account, Walsh wouldn't be pinned down on rumors around the merger talk, but he also didn't rule out the possibility. "That is a completely different agenda," he is quoted as saying by The Scotsman. "The first stage would be to move to a closer relationship." Posted 8:35 a.m.
AA, BA headed for a merger? New British Airways CEO Willie Walsh says he wants to reopen talks with American Airlines about cementing closer ties between the global giants. Walsh, who took over as CEO just last week, says he would like BA and AA to be able to coordinate flight schedules and ticket pricing, reports The Observer of London. The paper also writes that Walsh's comments "could be the first step towards reviving the idea of a full merger between the two carriers." The carriers have tried closely linking their operations twice before, but both times have been denied by U.S. regulators over competition concerns and access to London's Heathrow Airport. Meanwhile, Forbes quotes The Financial Mail as saying Walsh has already met with AA CEO Gerard Arpey "on a number of occasions in America over the past five months" and that the pair have "already re-opened merger talks." Outside of The Mail's account, Walsh wouldn't be pinned down on rumors around the merger talk, but he also didn't rule out the possibility. "That is a completely different agenda," he is quoted as saying by The Scotsman. "The first stage would be to move to a closer relationship." Posted 8:35 a.m.
