History
See also: History of British Airways and History of Iberia AirlinesBritish Airways and Iberia announced the signing of a preliminary merger agreement in November 2009. In April 2010, British Airways and Iberia signed a full merger agreement, with an intended completion date of late 2010, subject to securing the necessary regulatory appovals. The merger between British Airways and Iberia was completed on 21 January 2011, and shares in IAG began trading in London and Madrid on 24 January.
In March 2011, IAG announced that it had agreed to purchase eight Airbus A330-300 aircraft and to take options on eight more, to be used for Iberia's longhaul fleet. On 6 October 2011, IAG announced the launch of Iberia Express, a new low-cost airline to operate short- and medium-haul routes from IAG's Madrid hub and provide transfer feed onto Iberia's longhaul network. Iberia Express began operations on 25 March 2012.
On 4 November 2011, IAG agreed in principle to acquire British Midland International (BMI) from Lufthansa for an undisclosed sum, in a deal which would increase IAG's share of slots at Heathrow airport from 45% to 54%. On 22 December 2011, IAG agreed a binding deal with Lufthansa to acquire BMI for £172.5 million. On 30 March 2012, the purchase of BMI was approved, subject to the condition that the combined group divest itself of 12 daily slots and lease two daily slots at Heathrow airport. The acquisition was completed on 20 April 2012, and the BMI fleet and routes will be integrated into the British Airways schedule by the end of 2012.
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“All history is a record of the power of minorities, and of minorities of one.”
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“It would be naive to think that peace and justice can be achieved easily. No set of rules or study of history will automatically resolve the problems.... However, with faith and perseverance,... complex problems in the past have been resolved in our search for justice and peace. They can be resolved in the future, provided, of course, that we can think of five new ways to measure the height of a tall building by using a barometer.”
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“What you don’t understand is that it is possible to be an atheist, it is possible not to know if God exists or why He should, and yet to believe that man does not live in a state of nature but in history, and that history as we know it now began with Christ, it was founded by Him on the Gospels.”
—Boris Pasternak (1890–1960)