Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, is ready for talks with British Airways (BA) over moves to create the world's biggest airline, said a top official.

Bahrain's national carrier is looking for an alliance that would give it access to a massive global network, said a spokeswoman.

It was commenting on reports that Gulf Air is one of 12 carriers targeted for takeover by British Airways (BA) and Iberia on their way to creating the world's largest airline group.

Twelve carriers, said also to include Qantas, Cathay Pacific and Air Berlin, have reportedly been shortlisted after BA and Iberia initially considered 40 airlines.

"Gulf Air has not been approached regarding this initiative. However, it is something the company would consider positively at the appropriate time," said the spokeswoman.

"A central element of our long-term strategy is to join an alliance and we are actively looking for a suitable partner to support Gulf Air's business model and add value to the airline and vice-versa.

"One of the main benefits we offer a potential alliance is the strength of our regional network, the largest in the Middle East," she added.

There is speculation that it could also include India's Kingfisher Airlines and Chile's LAN, which has announced plans to merge with Brazil's TAM.

BA chief executive Willie Walsh earlier said that creating the International Airlines Group (IAG) through the merger with Iberia had been done with the intention of pursuing consolidation.

The Iberia deal and the joint venture with American Airlines were not meant to be an end in themselves, Walsh said. The creation of IAG is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Walsh will become chief executive of IAG, and BA finance director Keith Williams will become chief executive of the airline. BA and Iberia will continue to operate as separate brands.

"With Iberia, we have had a number of meetings where we have looked at airlines around the world and identified those that would be attractive to us in joining IAG," said Walsh in a statement sent to our sister publication, the Gulf Daily News.

"We are creating IAG in a way to ensure that it is scaleable and attractive to other airlines that might want to join us. We started with a list of about 40 airlines. We have narrowed it down to about 12.”

"This is just to give us a focus. We have not had any discussions with any airlines. There is nothing going on at the moment," he said.

"We want to create a platform for like-minded airlines - those who believe that consolidation is part of the answer for the industry - to be able to join us. We would not pursue all 12," he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service