It seems now, after the planned merger between British Airways and Iberia made head way, that Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways, seems to think that merger talks with Qantas could be restarted. A planned merger between the two airlines had fallen through just last year after the two carriers were unable to agree over terms.

However, now thanks to the planned tie-up between British Airways and Iberia, Willie Walsh thinks that the same template that was used to make that tie-up possibly could be used for Qantas as well. The main idea for the planned merger between British Airways and Iberia is that both airlines will be allowed to maintain their own brand identities and their home bases but just have a central headquarters for both airlines.

In an interview with Willie Walsh, he said that this same principle could be used to tie up deals with other airlines like Qantas. However, he did note that, as of now, there were no kind of concrete plans to present this kind of deal to the airline, but it was an idea.

Of course, it is unlikely that British Airways will try and strike up these talks anytime soon. Right now the tie up talks with Iberia, although moving forward, are not yet set in stone. The two carriers still have to get the merger approved. On top of this, British Airways is still dealing with a possible strike that could be taking place during Christmas. This strike threat came about after British Airways said it was changing its cabin crew working conditions.