British Airways (BA, London Heathrow) has confirmed that it is in talks with oneworld partner Qantas (QF/Sydney) about a merger using a dual-company structure. Qantas has faced a lot of criticism in Australia in response to the announcement. It is unclear how Iberia (IB/Madrid) would fit into the picture if the BA/Qantas merger would go ahead. Reportedly, Cathay Pacific (CX/Hong Kong) has been considering a takeover bid for British Airways earlier this fall as well. It seems that there definitely is some consolidation on the horizon for oneworld carriers with an unknown ending so far. British Airways has also again declared its interest in a commercial alliance with the new Alitalia (AZ/Rome Fiumicino). It has announced new routes for 2009: London Gatwick-Antigua-St. Kitts: weekly B777-200ER service starting on January 10 London Heathrow-Atlanta: daily B777-200ER service starting on March 29 (replacing route from Gatwick) London Heathrow-Jeddah: 5x weekly B767-300ER service resuming on March 29 London Heathrow-Riyadh: 5x weekly B777-200ER service resuming on March 29 London Heathrow-Toulouse: 2x daily A319-100/A320-200/A321-200 service starting on March 29 (replacing route from Gatwick) BA has suspended its London Heathrow-Islamabad services on September 21 following a major bomb blast at the local Marriott hotel. It will give up its routes from London Gatwick to Dublin, Geneva and Zurich and London Heathrow to Dhaka and Kolkata on March 28. It will not replace four B737s being retired at Gatwick and has announced 100 job cuts as a result.