British Airways (BA, London Heathrow) has held talks with various Chinese carriers including Spring Airlines (9C, Shanghai Hongqiao), China Eastern Airlines (MU, Shanghai Hongqiao) and Sichuan Airlines (3U, Chengdu Shuangliu) as it looks to boost its presence in the world's second largest economy. Speaking to Bloomberg newswire at the CAPA World Aviation Summit, IAG CEO, Willie Walsh, said British Airways had been "very late into China" due to relatively poor Sino-Anglo trade links and a lack of flight slots at its London Heathrow hub. However, services to Chengdu Shuangliu, added after the purchase of bmi british midland (Nottingham East Midlands) freed up 42 slots, are exceeding expectations. “It is a huge market,” he said. “There is a long list of cities in China we see with opportunities.” In addition to Chengdu, British Airways' Chinese network is limited to Beijing Capital and Shanghai Pudong flights.