Inmarsat plans Wi-Fi in the sky across Europe June 5, 2014 SATELLITE operator Inmarsat aims to offer airline Wi-Fi in the skies across Europe by 2016 with its new broadband network. British Airways is in advanced talks to become Inmarsat’s first client on the in-flight internet service, initially on domestic routes. The price for passengers will be set by the airlines, Inmarsat said. Inmarsat has ordered [...]
Brand Index: British Airways flying high as it extends lead over Virgin August 20, 2013 LAST summer I looked at perception of airlines and noted that British Airways, after years of being hit by a series of crises, had managed a steady period of improvement in its consumer perception scores, once again managing to overtake Virgin as Britain’s favourite airline. A year on, and in the heat of the holiday [...]
London Report: Turbulence for easyJet as FTSE loses altitude June 30, 2014 EASYJET proved to be a drag on the FTSE 100 yesterday as the low-cost airline felt the effect of a broker downgrade. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended down by 0.2 per cent, or 13.83 points, at 6,743.94 points – down more than two per cent from its 2014 peak of 6,894.88 in May, which [...]
Focus On… Peckham: Only fools wouldn’t invest in SE15 June 20, 2014 PECKHAM has come a long way since Del Boy and Rodney. The Nag’s Head might still be there, but these days you’re more likely to bump into artists making things than cockney geezers on the make. And it isn’t just artists. Parts of Peckham are actually quite posh now. Bellenden village, with its smart pubs, [...]
BA boss slams government for stopping airport growth April 11, 2014 Next year, Dubai International Airport will have overtaken Heathrow as the world’s busiest international airport, according to the chief executive of British Airways and Iberia. Willie Walsh, boss of International Airlines Group, has told the World Travel & Tourism Council summit in Abu Dhabi that the UK doesn’t “have politicians who are brave enough to [...]
Plain packaging is a losing strategy in the fight against smoking July 30, 2014 In the half-century since the landmark Surgeon General’s Report in the United States that first linked tobacco use to cancer, public-health advocates have made great strides in convincing people to kick the smoking habit–or never pick it up in the first place. The multimedia campaign against smoking continues to rack up successes today, but the [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 13 May 2014 May 12, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Allergan: Valeant bid would hit R&D Allergan has launched a robust defence against a near-$50bn bid by rival drugmaker Valeant and activist investor Bill Ackman, warning that a takeover would crush research and severely impair its ability to sell its products, including Botox. Allergan also said it had doubts about the viability of [...]
The GPS luggage tags that could change how you travel June 3, 2014 Flights are notorious when it comes to keeping luggage safe, particularly for those who travel by plane regularly. With passengers understandably going to great lengths to distinguish their belongings – from gaudy stickers, oversized labels and, in some cases, spray paint – a technological step forward seems sensible. That’s the thinking of several leading airlines, [...]
EasyJet agrees growth deal with Gatwick March 28, 2014 EASYJET has agreed to launch more flights at Gatwick as part of a deal on fees, forcing a reshuffle for other airlines at the airport. The budget carrier has signed a seven-year settlement that “incentivises the airline to grow at the airport”. The agreement means EasyJet will move its flights into the north terminal, in [...]
Willie Walsh paid £5m for work putting Iberia and BA on course March 6, 2014 WILLIE Walsh, the boss of International Airlines Group (IAG), was paid almost £5m last year as the firm made progress on turning around its Spanish carrier Iberia. Walsh, who led British Airways before it merged with Iberia in 2011, was awarded a £1.2m bonus, or almost 70 per cent of the maximum based on BA [...]