Merger talks between British Airways and Iberia, which have stumbled on for nearly a year, should be brought to a head, the new boss of the Spanish airline said yesterday.

Antonio Vazquez Romero, the executive chairman, told Cinco Dias, the Spanish newspaper: “I’ve come here with the object of closing a deal with our British partners. Negotiations cannot drag on much longer, but this isn’t to say that we are in a rush to seal a deal at any price.”

The merger plans have been hit by a series of complications. Mr Vazquez said that any fusion between BA and Iberia had to bring positive results for the Spanish airline.

“I want to make clear that any eventual deal that we sign with British Airways has to bring a plus and not a minus for Iberia,” he said.

It was announced on Thursday that Mr Vazquez was replacing Fernando Conte, 59, who had run Iberia for seven years. Mr Conte said that he had resigned for personal reasons, although it was widely rumoured on the Spanish Bolsa that he had been ousted by Caja Madrid, the savings bank, which is the biggest shareholder in the airline, with a 23 per cent stake.

Mr Vazquez, 57, a former director of Iberia and the chief executive of Altadis,the Spanish tobacco company, has wide experience of international mergers.While at Altadis, he oversaw the sale of the company to Imperial Tobacco for €12.6 billion. He also helped to negotiate a joint venture with the Cuban Government to sell cigars internationally.

Iberia has appointed Rafael Sánchez-Lozano as managing director and chief operating officer though Mr Vazquez will mainly be involved in overall strategy.

Analysts said that BA’s deficit of more than £1.7 billion was a major hurdle to the merger with Iberia. The Spanish carrier is without debt and holds about €2 billion (£1.7 billion) in cash.

Iberia’s market capitalisation is about €1.4 billion, while BA is worth about £1.38 billion. Iberia shares closed almost unchanged at €1.48 in Madrid, while BA was also virtually unchanged at 120p in London.

In May, Iberia reported a first-quarter net loss of €92.6 million and warned that it was unlikely to make a profit this year after recording a net profit last year of €32 million. BA announced a record annual operating loss of £401 million in May.

Meanwhile, Unite, the union that represents about 28,000 BA workers, said yesterday that it would appeal directly to the airline’s shareholders for their support over its pay proposals.

BA cabin crew have offered to take a 2.6 per cent pay cut to help achieve millions of pounds in savings. Unite said that the proposals would produce “substantial” savings, worth up to £220 million to the airline.

BA wants to cut 4,000 jobs, freeze pay for two years and make working practices far more flexible.

Unite will hand out a letter to BA shareholders at the airline’s annual meeting in London next week seeking their support for its proposals.

• The number of air travellers using major British airports declined to its lowest level for nine months in June, according to BAA, the airports operator. A total of 12.7 million passengers passed through its airports last month, a reduction of 5.9 per cent on the same period last year.

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