Coronavirus: US travel ban decimates airline stocks March 12, 2020 President Donald Trump’s travel ban on European citizens entering the US due to coronavirus fears sent airline stocks to new lows today after weeks of pressure on the sector. Recent FTSE 100 dropout Tui led the falls, posting a 10.4 per cent decline by the mid-morning, while British Airways owner IAG was not far behind, [...]
FTSE 100 closes higher on new coronavirus drug hopes June 16, 2020 The FTSE 100 extended its gains this afternoon closing up nearly three per cent after a major development in an Oxford University clinical trial. London’s blue-chip index climbed to highs of 3.53 per cent in the afternoon, before closing up 2.96 per cent. It erased Monday’s losses when traders were jittery on second wave fears. [...]
Court of Appeal to hear British Airways’ challenge against pension trustee powers April 30, 2018 The Court of Appeal is gearing up hear the latest round of the bitter dispute between British Airways and its pension trustees over a new power granted by the trustees to award additional payments to staff. The high-profile case centres on the switch of public sector pension increases from the Retail Price Index (RPI) to [...]
Flybe infected by aviation sector’s malaise March 6, 2020 As ministerial tweets go, the mid-January proclamation by the business and transport secretaries that Flybe’s future had been salvaged will surely endure as among the most ill-judged of Boris Johnson’s government. Barely 54 days later, Flybe has become just another corporate carcass, joining Monarch and Thomas Cook among the airlines which failed to cope with [...]
Portugal removed from UK’s travel ban ‘red list’ in boost for summer holiday hopes March 16, 2021 Portugal will be removed from the UK’s travel ban list this week, in a boost for summer holiday hopes this year. The Department for Transport has updated its “red list” of destinations, which bars travellers from those countries entering the UK. British or Irish nationals are permitted to enter the country, but must quarantine in [...]
Boeing gets orders for 50 more grounded 737 Max jets from Kazakh airline November 19, 2019 Boeing’s grounded 737 Max received another vote of confidence today, as airlines announced plans to order up to 50 of the jets worth $6bn at list prices. Kazakhstan’s flag carrier, Air Astana, has signed a letter of intent to buy 30 of the 737 Max 8 planes, which are banned from global airspaces after two [...]
Skiing in Uzbekistan, the cold heart of the Silk Road October 16, 2021 I remembered the loudness of a helicopter, its blades beating the air like an incensed dragon. What I hadn’t realised, though, is that when a helicopter lands on deep snow, the force creates a blast of ice and powder which rips through your clothing and stings any inch of exposed skin. It goes on and [...]
Heathrow exec warns of potential budget bust – and likens expansion to Tottenham Hotspur stadium September 12, 2019 A Heathrow director has likened the airport’s £14bn expansion plan to Tottenham Hotspur’s new football stadium, which ran massively over budget. Emma Gilthorpe, Heathrow’s executive director for expansion, said major infrastructure projects were “very challenging to deliver” and that details were “pinned down” far too early in the process. Read more: ‘Massive gravy train: British [...]
Italy coronavirus: Schools and colleges will close for two weeks March 4, 2020 Italy is considering closing all schools and colleges in a bid to stem the outbreak of the coronavirus as the country’s death toll jumps to 107. The Ansa news agency reported that the Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte decided to close all educational institutions for two weeks because of the rapid spread of the coronavirus. Italy’s [...]
Heathrow enjoys record passenger numbers amid rise of US and African traffic October 25, 2019 Heathrow has posted a record number of passengers travelling through its airport this year, as a boon in transatlantic flights helped offset a slowdown in short-haul journeys. The airport hub has said it is expecting its ninth consecutive year of growth after reporting a 0.7 per cent year-on-year rise in passenger numbers to 61m in [...]