SYDNEY (Reuters) - British Airways is not considering non-stop flights from its London Heathrow hub to Australia that would compete against Australia's Qantas Airways <QAN.AX>, the CEO of BA's parent company said on Wednesday.
"Code sharing is an option but in terms of using our metal, we're not considering it," Willie Walsh, the CEO of IAG <ICAG.L>, said at a CAPA-Centre for Aviation summit in Sydney.
Only Australian and British carriers have the rights to do non-stop flights between London and Australia.
Qantas began non-stop flights between Australia and Europe this year by linking Perth and London and is working to connect Sydney and London in a non-stop 20-hour flight.
"Personally the idea of sitting on an aircraft for 21 hours to get from Heathrow to Sydney, it doesn't appeal to me," Walsh said.
(Reporting by Victoria Bryan and Jamie Freed; Editing by Stephen Coates and Paul Tait)
