British Airways boss, Willie Walsh, has announced that following the airline’s imminent merger with Spanish flag carrier Iberia, it will be looking for partnerships with at least one other airline within a year. Subject to regulatory approval BA will form an alliance with US carrier American Airlines.

Speaking at London’s Aviation Club, Mr Walsh said that the partnership with Iberia would allow parent company International Airlines to scale itself up and take advantage of any opportunities that presented themselves over the next 12 months. Possible partnerships in the near future could include Poland’s LOT, Portugal’s TAP, Finnair and the Brazilian carrier, TAM.

Mr Walsh added that BA’s vision was a global one, and that by joining with Iberia the intention was to create a platform on which a worldwide network could be built. Industry experts suspect that one of Mr Walsh’s plans is to hook into the Asian market by forming an alliance with a carrier such as Cathay Pacific.

Mr Walsh also said that he was sure that BA would be able to compete for another 10 years, but that after that it would need to look to other hubs, as the UK does not have the capacity to maintain competition. He went on to say that by having a presence in Madrid, BA had the opportunity to grow because Barajas had a great deal of untapped capacity, unlike BA’s main hub, Heathrow.

Mr Walsh said that Africa and the south of Europe presented shorter transatlantic routes than from the UK, and that he fully intended to exploit them.