Sky’s the limit for British Airways after Iberia vote

City analysts were betting today that British Airways is already picking over a list of rival carriers to link up with as the airline's investors met in London to give the final approval to its £5 billion merger with Spain's Iberia.

BA and Iberia shareholders today voted through the creation of a new parent company, called International Consolidated Airlines Group.

Shares in IAG – which will carry around 57 million passengers a year – will begin trading on the London Stock Exchange on 24 January.

But whilw both airlines will keep their own identities and tail fins and passengers may see little difference, analysts expect BA boss Willie Walsh, who will become chief executive of IAG, to set out his plans to expand the airline group before long.

Gert Zonneveld, transport analyst at Panmure Gordon, said: "Clearly over time BA wants to build a global business and that means partners like Qantas or a South America carrier might be of interest.

"IAG is set up in such a way that it could add a third or even fourth airline in due course. But I think we're talking years rather than months. IAG will have its hands full with getting the benefits of running the two companies under joint ownership."

Walsh has said IAG was deliberately blandly-named in order to permit further acquisitions.

In September, he said there were 12 airlines that he and his opposite number at Iberia, AntonioVazquez, were looking at buying.