Willie Walsh has a reputation as a workaholic but he is testing his limits. The British Airways chief executive is juggling a perilously high number of balls, with the danger that any or all could be dropped.

In parallel, he is negotiating separate mergers with Australia’s Qantas, disclosed on Tuesday, and Spain’s Iberia. Either may happen. Or neither. The history of the airline industry is littered with failed mergers. BA has been involved in several.