The announcement that BA is to spend $8.2bn on 36 new aircraft came the same day as SAS's ceo stressed that his carrier must grow by 20% by 2011 and take rival's share of the market to compete.
The two announcements seem to highlight the widening gap between Europe's three biggest traditional carriers and the rest.
But what is more remarkable is that while BA is in the top three, SAS is ranked fourth.
The top three are clearly interested in expansions and acquisitions while the strategy of the rest of the legacy carriers appears to be more about survival.
It has long been predicted by aviation analysts that this is how the European industry would pan out: the big three becoming increasingly dominant with the medium-sized and smaller carriers being absorbed or going out of business.
This week gave an indication that this might now be starting to happen.
The consortium of which BA is a leading member is set to make a firm bid for Iberia by the end of the month, according to a report by Reuters.
Air France KLM executives have been making noises about a possible bid for Iberia while at the same time eyeing an alliance with the deeply troubled Alitalia. The second option looks by far the better bet.
Air France has long had close relations with Alitalia - both are member of the same SkyTeam alliance - and the Italian government is anxious to get the loss making carrier off its hands by the end of the year. With a distinct shortage of suitors, Air France KLM might have the field to itself.
This was also the week that Lufthansa, having completed its integration with SWISS, indicated that it might too be looking for more acquisitions, with Iberia - inevitably - in the frame.
The reason the German carrier gave for its renewed interest was that the current squeeze on credit might bring airline prices down. Previously it has said that the BA bid for Iberia is too high.
If the Lufthansa thesis is right, it could spark a wider round of acquisitions or mergers.
So if the big three are in acquisitive mode, where does that leave the rest? A few are such chronic loss makers that interest is likely to be nil or thereabouts. Others, in East Europe for example, have growing economies and thus growing air markets which might attract interest.
Still others, like Finnair, with its policy to provide services to China and the Far East, are attempting with some success to develop niche markets. SAS might come into this category.
Mats Jansson, the ceo, stressed in his speech in Oslo (see news story: SAS must grow to compete – Jansson) that SAS must concentrate more on its home territory of Northern Europe while at the same time looking to expand through subsidiaries into Eastern Europe and Russia – both growing markets.
He said the airline had to buy up to 15 new aircraft and improve performance in a variety of ways to achieve this.
But none of this analysis takes into account the low cost carriers (LCCs) and their seemingly unceasing and unstoppable rise.
Also this week, the biggest of them all in Europe, Ryanair announced 70 new destinations on the continent - a massive rise - bringing its total of destinations to 550.
Air Berlin also announced last month its acquisition of another airline Condor after earlier integrating with LTU.
These with easyJet and Germanwings are becoming, or already are, big players. It is they as much as the Big Three with whom the smaller traditional carriers have to compete.
It is not an optimistic picture for them. The Big Three are likely to continue to dominate the lucrative long haul routes, especially the transatlantic ones, while the LCCs are likely to continue to cut into the short haul market.
For many of the smaller traditional carriers the next three to four years, as Mr Jansson appears to acknowledge, could be make or break years.