British Airways (BA) has kicked off its first panel review since its merger with Spanish airline Iberia went live at the beginning of the year (24 January).

The review is being overseen by head of legal Andrew Fleming, who was promoted to the role earlier this year after his predecessor Maria da Cunha took up a new post as director of people, legal and government affairs in the wake of the merger.

Fleming is set to review all of BA's regular advisers, which include Slaughter and May, Baker & McKenzie and Addleshaw Goddard.

While the Iberia merger has served as a catalyst for the review, advisers to Iberia and the parent company of both airlines – International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) – will be reviewed separately at a later date.

BA's tender document, which law firms were asked to submit last week (31 October), is understood to have asked firms to provide details of alternative fee arrangements as well details of secondees and in-house training they could provide to BA.

BA employs a large in-house legal team which covers employment, commercial and competition. The company brings in external counsel mainly on corporate transactions, financing and pensions work.

This year's merger between the two airlines saw longstanding adviser Slaughter and May acting for BA, with Norton Rose picking up a mandate alongside Spanish firm Garrigues to advise Iberia. A previous merger attempt in 2008 saw Slaughters advising BA alongside Uria Menendez, with Allen & Overy advising Iberia.

A spokesperson at BA commented: "We regularly review our external suppliers across the business but we do not comment in detail on a tender process."