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Newsroom
By Dow Jones
May 22, 2008
British Airways PLC (BAIRY) Chief Executive Willie Walsh said he would welcome an alliance with Continental Airlines Inc. (CAL) Thursday, ahead of a meeting later in the day with Continental CEO Larry Kellner.
Walsh praised Houston-based Continental and said it would be a welcome addition to BA's alliance with AMR Corp.'s (AMR) American Airlines.
"We've had some discussions with them," Walsh told reporters at a breakfast Thursday morning at a Houston hotel. "I still think if Continental were to choose to join One World, that would be a good addition."
Facing higher fuel costs and a worsening economy, the U.S. airline industry is under intense pressure to improve profitability. Continental, which had been in advanced merger talks with United Airlines parent UAL Corp. (UAUA), announced on April 27 that it wouldn't pursue a corporate merger, but would consider new strategic alliances.
Kellner, who was spotted by a reporter in the hotel lobby Thursday morning near the Walsh breakfast, wavedoff questions about meeting with Walsh. Walsh told Dow Jones Newswires the meeting with Kellner was "just a courtesy."
A Continental spokeswoman said Walsh and Kellner were scheduled to talk Thursday afternoon.
"It's not uncommon for executives to meet while they're in each other's cities," said Continental spokeswoman Julie King.
King cited Continental's April 27 statement, which said the company was considering alternatives to its current membership in SkyTeam, an alliance that includes Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA), two airlines that are merging with each other.
British Airways disclosed its talks with Continental and American in a regulatory filing a few weeks ago. Walsh told reporters the disclosure was mandated under U.K. law, but described them as very preliminary.
"They were talks about talks," Walsh said.
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