BA Expansion Tipped For A Chile Takeoff

Leading bookmaker Paddy Power are taking bets on which airline BA-Iberia will acquire next in their ongoing bid to become the worlds largest airline group.

Recent comments by Willie Walsh suggest they have twelve airlines currently in their sights and punters are wasting no time trying to second guess the crafty BA boss.

Chile’s flag carrier LAN Airlines has emerged as the bookies early favourite at odds of 9/4 and as the country’s principal airline would be well aligned to Walsh’s strategy of focusing on emerging markets.

A host of BA’s Oneworld alliance partners also make it onto the business end of the bookies shortlist led by Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific at 11/4, Japanese airlines JAL at 10/3 and Finland’s flag carrier Finnair at 7/2.

Paddy Power himself said “Willie Walsh has more bottle than most so when he claims to be in the market for airlines to buy you can bet he won’t waste too much time shopping around. The only question is which airline tops his list”

First to be bought by/merge with IAG

• 9/4 LAN Airlines
• 11/4 Cathay Pacific
• 10/3 JAL
• 7/2 Finn Air
• 5/1 American Airlines
• 5/1 Qantas
• 12/1 Mexicana