Ryanair just revised up its 2015 profit forecast by €60m December 4, 2014 Ryanair’s share price soared more than eight per cent this morning as it revised its full-year profit forecast upwards by €60m (£47m). The budget airline said customer numbers increased in November, which it credited to its "Always Getting Better" campaign and it now expects more than 1m additional passenger numbers over the year. The firm [...]
Aer Lingus sets out terms of €1.4bn IAG offer June 19, 2015 A takeover of Aer Lingus by International Airlines Group (IAG) – the parent company of British Airways – came one step closer this morning, after the Irish airline published the full terms of IAG's offer for the group and called an extraordinary general meeting. The deal has been sparked by Ryanair, which has been told [...]
Lost cost airline Norwegian will offer £179 flights from London to Boston August 19, 2015 If the price of travel to the States was putting you off, fret no more. You will soon be able to travel to the city of the Boston Celtics and sitcom Cheers for just £179. Norwegian, a low cost airline, will be offering four flights a week from Gatwick to Boston from May 2016, the [...]
Carry-on luggage on airlines including Lufthansa and Emirates is about to get even smaller June 10, 2015 It's one of life's certainties, on top of death and taxes: arrive 10 minutes late to the queue for your gate on a budget airline, and you'll inevitably be forced to stow your carry-on in the hold, thus adding roughly an hour to your journey. Now the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has come up [...]
There is something of a renaissance underway around the British coast. And London needs to watch out. October 22, 2015 “Coming from London,” a local journalist asked me as I stepped off the train at Scarborough last week, “do you just see us as a back wash of the Yorkshire backwater?” I was too taken aback to even consider an answer, let alone snap back that I was actually brought up in Derby, went to [...]
British Airways owner International Airlines Group’s takeover of Aer Lingus given clearance for takeoff July 17, 2015 British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG) said today it's been given the go-ahead to buy budget Irish airline Aer Lingus, after the company received acceptances from more than half of shareholders. The news brings IAG, which also owns Iberia and Vueling, a step closer to completing its €1.36bn (£951m) deal to take over [...]
Tesco AGM: Lewis grilled over pay, performance and strategy but all resolutions passed June 26, 2015 Tesco bosses faced a grilling by shareholders today, fending off complaints about customer service, overall strategy and – of course – pay. But by the end of the AGM it was clear the supermarket's shareholders weren't revolting – at least not as much as some thought they might be. All of Tesco's resolutions, at least [...]
Michael O’Leary: Ryanair CEO’s four lessons for business leaders November 3, 2014 Ryanair’s boss proves that plain speaking needn’t hold you back. Ryanair, the no frills budget airline, known for its hard-headed attitude to customer service, raised its profit forecast yesterday, after its half-year profits rose by a third. The news followed a profit warning a year ago, when guidance was slashed. Consistently low fares and [...]
Ireland agrees to sells it Aer Lingus stake to IAG for €1.36bn May 26, 2015 After much anticipation the Irish government has finally agreed to sell its 25 per cent in Aer Lingus to British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines (IAG). The Irish airliner's board recommended IAG's proposed €1.36bn (£961bn) offer in February but it still needs support from the other main shareholder, Ryanair. Market sources previously speculated that a deal between [...]
Being nice pays off for Ryanair as profit soars by 32 per cent November 3, 2014 Budget airline Ryanair is finding that being nice really does pay off, after it revealed its half-year net profit rose a whopping 32 per cent to €795m (£621.6m) The company embarked on a customer service overhaul about a year ago, when chief executive Michael O’Leary vowed to stop “unnecessarily pissing people off”. Since then the [...]