IAG boss stops eyeing Europe for acquisitions September 17, 2013 EUROPEAN airlines will have to cut costs at existing short-haul businesses to compete with budget airlines or struggle to stay aloft, IAG boss Willie Walsh said yesterday, adding that his firm is not looking for further acquisitions in Europe. So-called legacy carriers such as IAG, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM are cutting jobs, renegotiating staff contracts [...]
Our innovative Heathrow plan could expand capacity without huge costs November 28, 2013 IN JUST three weeks, Sir Howard Davies and the Airports Commission will publish a shortlist of ideas to solve a problem critical to Britain’s future success – how to enhance our airport capacity. We hope that our innovative Heathrow Hub concept – which is unconnected to any proposals from the current airport owners – will [...]
Heathrow and airlines hit out at charge ruling October 3, 2013 HEATHROW and its airlines reacted furiously to the industry watchdog’s ruling yesterday on how much the airport can hike its charges over the next five years. The Civil Aviation Authority capped Heathrow’s tariffs for airlines in line with inflation from April 2014 – a blow to the airport, which had asked for a 4.6 per [...]
Economic growth boosts hopes for tax giveaways December 1, 2013 GEORGE Osborne could have more room for tax cut giveaways as the economy recovers, analysts predicted ahead of Thursday’s Autumn Statement. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is expected to reveal Osborne is ahead of previous forecasts on cutting the deficit, opening the way for him to consider loosening the purse strings. The OBR is [...]
IAG November traffic rises on good results at British Airways December 5, 2012 INTERNATIONAL Airlines Group (IAG) yesterday posted a rise in November traffic, as strong growth at British Airways again made up for weakness at Spain’s Iberia. Traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometres, rose by 3.6 per cent versus November 2011, while passenger load factor – a measure of how well it fills its planes – was [...]
Letters to the Editor – 09/09 – Twitter complaint, AI developments, Best of Twitter September 8, 2013 Twitter complaint [Re: Twitter complaint signals the start of a revolution for corporate reputations, Friday] This is a wonderful story. So many companies, of which British Airways is one, do not dedicate sufficient resources towards dealing with customers. The resultant media coverage, not to mention the thousands who saw the comment on Twitter, should set [...]
Hotel focus: Oitavos, Portugal November 3, 2013 TRAVEL writing tradition dictates that a property sitting amid mountains, forestry or, in this case, the windswept dunes of Portugal’s Atlantic coast, should be described as “nestled” among its surroundings. Not the Oitavos Hotel though. The five-star hotel near Lisbon looks like it has crash landed in the sand and grasses – a tower of [...]
Airports lifted by post-Games holidaymakers September 11, 2013 PASSENGERS flocked to Heathrow and Gatwick in August, after a lull last summer when Britons stayed at home to watch the Olympics. Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, said traffic was up 7.7 per cent to almost 7m customers last month – or a rise of one per cent when the effect of London 2012 was [...]
Europe fare war dents Ryanair’s profit forecasts September 4, 2013 AIRLINE shares took a nosedive yesterday after Ryanair, the biggest carrier in Europe, warned that it might miss profit targets for the year. The budget airline said a brewing price war in the UK and several other countries had dented its yields in recent weeks, as rivals try to tempt hard-up Europeans into taking more [...]
British Airways boss thinks MPs will fail to sort out air capacity December 4, 2012 THE HEAD of British Airways’ parent company does not think the government’s latest attempt to tackle airport expansion in Britain will come up with a concrete plan. “I think the decision of the government to establish the Davies Commission has been seen by some, maybe seen by many, as a step in the right direction. [...]