Gulf Air potential target for BA/Iberia supergroup

Gulf Air is believed to be one of the targets for a new massive airline group being headed by British Airways

The Bahrain national carrier's chief, CEO Samer Majali, denied BA had been in contact saying "Gulf Air have not been approached regarding this initiative, however it is something the company would consider positively at the appropriate time."

British Airways is seeking to create the world's biggest airline group, the International Airlines Group (IAG) following its $7.6bn merger deal with Spain's Iberia and at the same time Bahrain's national carrier is looking for an alliance that would give it access to a massive global network,

The 12 carriers targeted for the new super-alliance is also said to include Qantas, Cathay Pacific and Air Berlin. BA and Iberia have reportedly initially considered 40 airlines.he creation of IAG is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Majali said "A central element of our long-term strategy is to join an alliance and we are actively looking for a suitable partner to support Gulf Air's business model and add value to the airline and vice-versa" and yesterday a spokesperson from Gulf Air said "One of the main benefits we offer a potential alliance is the strength of our regional network, the largest in the Middle East," she added.

BA chief executive Willie Walsh earlier said that creating the International Airlines Group (IAG) through the merger with Iberia had been done with the intention of pursuing consolidation. "The Iberia deal and the joint venture with American Airlines were not meant to be an end in themselves" Walsh said on Sunday.