British Airways and Iberia are on track to sign their merger agreement to create the world's third largest airline by revenue in the first quarter of 2010, the two carriers said today.
However, there is no fixed date for the deal to be signed, a source with knowledge of the merger negotiations said.
Earlier, Spanish business newspaper Cinco Dias said the Spanish airline had slated February 12 and February 25 as possible dates to sign with BA, following the memorandum of understanding agreed in November.
'We aim to sign the merger agreement in the first quarter of 2010,' a BA spokesman said today.
The two airlines will still need to reach an agreement on how to address BA's multi-billion pound pension fund deficit before their long-planned merger finally becomes a reality.
Shares in both BA and Iberia have gained momentum recently on hopes the merger will go ahead.
The British airline is due to announce results for its third quarter to the end of December on Friday, with analysts expecting an operating loss of between £90-100m sterling. Iberia reports its full-year results on February 24.
