Qatar Airways has bought a 9.99% stake in British Airways and Iberia parent IAG.
All three carriers already co-operate as part of the oneworld Alliance. IAG chief executive Willie Walsh said in a statement today: "We will talk to them about what opportunities exist to work more closely together and further IAG’s ambitions as the leading global airline group."
Under EU rules, the majority shareholders of any European airline must be based in the EU, but Qatar could increase its stake in IAG at a later stage.
Qatar Airways group chief executive His Excellency Akbar Al Baker said: "IAG represents an excellent opportunity to further develop our Westwards strategy. Having joined the oneworld alliance it makes sense for us to work more closely together in the near term and we look forward to forging a long term relationship."
