The ex-Goldman man bringing his banking skills to the Olympics July 26, 2010 AS far as many people are concerned, ex-Goldman Sachs banker Paul Deighton has quite possibly the best job in the world. Today he’s precisely two years away from organising the most prestigious sporting event in the history of mankind, the Olympic Games. And so far it’s going swimmingly well, he says. And he’s still in [...]
Journey into the mighty history of Samarkand December 12, 2010 AROUND Tashkent airport, giant hoardings proclaimed in English: “Uzbekistan Airways Wish You Good Luck”. It might have been more unsettling to read that message driving into Heathrow before our departure. In fact, we’d had an incident-free flight on Uzbekistan Airways to Uzbekistan’s capital. Tashkent sounds endlessly exotic but isn’t really. Much was destroyed by a [...]
IATA boss: airlines need more mergers April 12, 2010 CONSOLIDATION in the airline industry is essential to cut costs and improve competitiveness, according to Giovanni Bisignani, the director-general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). During a trip to Japan, Bisignani said: “Mergers and consolidation is a must … I strongly support consolidation.” He also urged the Japanese government to “continue to push for [...]
Ash grounds Scottish and Irish flights May 5, 2010 ICELAND’S volcano grounded flights out of Ireland and Scotland yesterday, as a fresh ash plume again disrupted the holiday plans of thousands of passengers. The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) closed airspace in Ireland and Scotland, affecting major airports and international flights after the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 14, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES MINISTERS URGED TO EXTEND WIND SUBSIDIES One of the biggest investors in UK wind power will warn the government on Tuesday that it must extend subsidies for the industry or risk losing investment as European countries vie to build up wind capacity. ARAB NATIONS URGED TO MEET AID PROMISES Arab countries have been urged to use more of their [...]
Triesman departure sparks FA scramble May 18, 2010 A MASS scramble has begun to land the job of the most powerful man in English football following Lord Triesman’s resignation as chairman of the Football Association on Sunday. Triesman stepped down both from the FA and as chairman of England’s 2018 World Cup bid after he was secretly recorded telling a friend that Spain [...]
UK fly ban criticised as an over-reaction April 20, 2010 LAST night’s decision by the authorities to re-open Britain’s airspace was yesterday criticised by the aviation industry and London Mayor Boris Johnson for being “too little, too late.” The six day suspension has left hundreds of thousands stranded and caused severe damage to the economy. British Airways chief executive, Willie Walsh, said he was pleased [...]
BA in ash cloud compensation bid April 19, 2010 BRITISH Airways has appealed for compensation from the European Union and the UK government over the chaos caused by the volcanic ash cloud which has grounded flights. The company estimates that the crisis is costing it about £15m to £20m a day. Chief executive Willie Walsh called on the government to adopt new policies that [...]
Better load factor is key April 8, 2010 AT LAST, there is sun on the horizon for the beleaguered airline industry. Easyjet yesterday said its passenger numbers were up 13.5 per cent in March compared to last year, a similar result to Ryanair, which carried 13 per cent more passengers last month. Although both companies said they saw increased business thanks to the [...]
BA strike on as talks fail May 23, 2010 A WAR of words broke out between British Airways (BA) and trade union Unite after negotiations between the two fell apart, signalling that BA’s customers will face up to 15 days of disruptions. Unite joint general secretary Tony Woodley called on BA late yesterday to drop the withdrawal of full travel perks for striking cabin [...]