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 [...]
BA strike to go ahead after talks crash March 19, 2010 A STRIKE by British Airways cabin crew will go ahead after last ditch talks between the airline and the Unite union failed. The first three-day strike by 12,000 cabin crew begins on Saturday, with a four-day walkout planned from 27 March. Unite’s joint general secretary Tony Woodley said: “BA does not want to negotiate and [...]
Dyson steps down as chairman March 14, 2010 Sir James Dyson, the extrovert entrepreneur, is stepping down as chairman of Dyson to be replaced by Bob Ayling, the former chief executive of British Airways. There are rumours that Dyson will be hired by the Conservatives if they win the next General Election. Last week he produced a 60 page report called “Ingenious Britain: [...]
Test flights to protest the European ban April 18, 2010 A RAFT of European commercial airliners launched test flights this weekend, despite flight bans, in a bid to protest against decisions to ground flights in the UK and most of Northern Europe as the Icelandic volcano continued to erupt. British Airways (BA), Air France, KLM and Lufthansa each flew a collection of test flights throughout [...]
New cloud casts doubt on flights April 19, 2010 A NEW ash cloud erupting from the Icelandic volcano has endangered plans to reopen British airspace. Major carriers had planned to operate long haul departures and short haul flights scheduled to fly after 7pm in a bid to help stranded passengers. But last night hopes faded as a ferocious new blast of volcanic ash drifted [...]
Welsh Water chair ex-BA boss March 9, 2010 Former British Airways chief executive Bob Ayling, has been made chairman of Welsh Water, the not-for-profit utility that provides water and waste water services for 3m people. Ayling, ousted from BA a decade ago, will replace Lord Burns of Pitshanger, the former Treasury mandarin.
The ash is back May 17, 2010 BRITAIN’S airline industry is facing a fresh set of threats this week as aviation authorities prepare to close a number of airports ahead of a new and highly dense ash cloud which is expected to drift across the UK. Last night Heathrow, Gatwick and City airports were closed from 1am until at least 7am today. [...]
Flight chaos in wake of volcano blast April 15, 2010 THE vast cloud of volcanic dust blasted into the atmosphere by a gigantic underwater eruption in Iceland was still causing flight chaos this morning. All commercial flights were scrapped yesterday after the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, situated under a glacier, sent a noxious dust-cloud drifting South across Europe. Flight delays are now expected to last for several [...]
Q&A: ICELANDIC VOLCANO April 15, 2010 Q. HOW MANY FLIGHTS WERE CANCELLED? A. Every single commercial flight out of the UK was grounded yesterday. At least 600 British Airways flights were included. Flights in Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Russia were also affected. Q. WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I AM FLYING TODAY? A. Airports owner BAA and airlines recommend [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT A SPRING OF STRIKES? March 29, 2010 ROSS D’AURIGNY | AURIGNY COMMODITIES “I think its become inevitable that we will see a spring of strikes and rail workers are next. The strikers have lost all semblance of reality about what it all started over. The trade unions don’t realise they are costing Gordon Brown the election. We are in for a torrid [...]