Axe tax and lift growth, airlines urge Osborne February 4, 2013 SCRAPPING air passenger duty (APD) would end up benefiting the public purse, according to research conducted by PwC and commissioned by airlines. If the government ended the controversial levy on air travellers entering or leaving the UK, the subsequent boost to businesses could lift GDP by 0.46 per cent this year, the study by PwC [...]
Sale of UK air traffic attracts interest from 3i January 27, 2013 LISTED private equity firm 3i has entered the fray to snap up a minority stake in the UK’s air traffic control agency amid an ownership shake up at the air controller, it emerged yesterday. 3i, led by chief executive Simon Borrows, is understood to have registered its interest in bidding for a 12 per cent [...]
City Moves for 4 February 2013 | Who’s switching jobs February 3, 2013 Ultra Electronics The security, defence and energy company has appointed Mary Waldner as its group finance director. She is currently director, group finance at QinetiQ Group, and has previously served as group finance controller at 3i. Waldner additionally spent 10 years in senior roles at British Airways. Linklaters William Kirschner has been elected partner in [...]
Branson lays down £1m bet to BA’s Walsh December 10, 2012 VIRGIN founder Sir Richard Branson yesterday insisted that the brand will not disappear if a new investor takes a stake in his airline. As Delta nears a deal to buy Singapore Airlines’ 49 per cent stake in Virgin Atlantic, Sir Richard hinted that he will not give up control of the carrier. He wrote a [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 31, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Barclays in Qatar loan probe UK authorities are probing an allegation that Barclays loaned Qatar money to invest in the bank as part of its cash call at the height of the financial crisis in 2008, which enabled the bank to avoid a UK government bailout. Neither Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr [...]
Christmas rush helps UK airlines end the year with rising traffic January 7, 2013 THE CHRISTMAS getaway has pushed up ticket sales at some of the country’s biggest airlines, according to figures out yesterday. EasyJet said traffic rose 4.9 per cent on a year ago to 4.34m in December. Its load factor – a measure of how much the firm fills its planes – rose 2.3 percentage points to [...]
Branson ups the stakes in flight wars November 18, 2012 VIRGIN Atlantic is hoping to break British Airways’ traditional dominance of UK short haul air travel, after being picked to take over a dozen slots at Heathrow Airport. Virgin confirmed today that it will offer flights to Aberdeen and Edinburgh next year, using the slots that BA has been forced to give up on competition [...]
OFT cuts British Airways fine for fuel surcharge pact with Virgin April 19, 2012 THE OFFICE of Fair Trading has halved a fine imposed on British Airways for colluding with rival airline Virgin Atlantic over fuel surcharges. The consumer and competition watchdog said it had dropped the fine to £58.5m down from a record £121.5m thanks to BA’s help during the investigation and changes to competition law, following an [...]
OFT cuts British Airways fine for fuel surcharge pact with Virgin April 19, 2012 THE OFFICE of Fair Trading has halved a fine imposed on British Airways for colluding with rival airline Virgin Atlantic over fuel surcharges. The consumer and competition watchdog said it had dropped the fine to £58.5m down from a record £121.5m thanks to BA’s help during the investigation and changes to competition law, following an [...]
BRITISH AIRWAYS PLANS CITY TO VENICE ROUTE March 27, 2012 BRITISH Airways has added new routes from London City airport, with flights to Venice starting in September and more journeys to Frankfurt beginning this month. The carrier will also put on more flights to and from Glasgow, starting in September. BA will have 14 planes serving City airport once the new routes are introduced.