How did the mighty British Airways wind up asking staff to work for free? June 25, 2009 STRANGELY enough British Airways’ (BA) many problems began at the end of the 2006-07 financial year when it posted record results of £922m. Until then banks were happy to pay £4,000 to fly across the Atlantic. But the recession meant that business and first class fares from London to New York – BA’s lifeblood – [...]
BA ordered to give up slots for Oneworld alliance December 21, 2009 BRITISH Airways, Iberia and American Airlines have been told they must surrender slots at congested airports including London Heathrow if they are to extend their Oneworld alliance. The airlines are among five Oneworld partners who have applied for immunity to anti-trust cases, which would let them jointly price and market international flights without fear of [...]
TRAVEL NOTES January 17, 2010 Astrology in Hampshire Astrologist to the stars Shelley von Strunckel will be offering “astrological first aid” at the beautiful Four Seasons in Hampshire on Sat 23 Jan and Tues 26 Jan. A group session with von Strunckel will shed light on what’s really behind those dramatic changes in your life, and will be followed by [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 15, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES UNITED REMAINS KEEN TO COURT RIVAL CONTINENTAL The head of United Airlines has hinted at the benefits of renewing merger talks with Continental Airlines, saying the market had judged in favour of rival Delta’s takeover of Northwest. “The market capitalisation of Delta is approximately twice the combined market capitalisation of United and Continental,” [...]
British Airways sees a slump in air traffic as downturn hits June 3, 2009 FLAG carrier British Airways (BA) said yesterday its premium passenger numbers for May tumbled 17.2 per cent, as airlines struggle to fill seats during the downturn. BA said its economy passenger numbers were down by only 4.2 per cent. Overall passenger numbers were down 6.5 per cent, suggesting the previous month’s rise may have been [...]
Eurostar train drivers set to strike on Friday over wages December 16, 2009 British train drivers on Eurostar services will strike on Friday and Saturday over pay, but the company yesterday said it expected no disruption for pre-Christmas travellers. Eurostar trains link London to Paris and Brussels and the coming few days are usually among the busiest of the year ahead of the Christmas holiday. A spokesman for [...]
MANAGE RISK CAREFULLY IN CHOPPY TIMES January 24, 2010 FOLLOWING Barack Obama’s attack on Wall Street towards the end of last week, the markets suffered the sort of wobble that some had thought we had seen the last of. It proved once again that we are not out of the woods yet and was a reminder that spread betters have to be able to [...]
BA pension trustees meet to decide the chairman’s future November 17, 2009 BRITISH AIRWAYS’ retirement scheme trustees will meet with chairman Roger Maynard today to discuss his future at the helm of the fund. Maynard has come under fire for combining his role as chairman of both BA’s pension funds with board positions at BA and Spain’s Iberia, suggesting a conflict of interests. A spokesman for the [...]
No frillers win fight of skies January 7, 2010 RYANAIR blew away the competition over Christmas, flying nearly five million passengers in December – 12 per cent more than last year. And total passengers for 2009 reached the dizzy heights of 65m, jetting past the 58m recorded the previous year. The budget airline’s biggest rival EasyJet notched up a 9.3 per cent year-on-year rise [...]
TURNING JAPANESE November 22, 2009 DAME Clara Furse, renowned in the City for her combative style while chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, is set to join the international board of Nomura. The appointment is a coup for the Japanese Bank which has been hit by high profile gender discrimination law suits. The international board is chaired by former [...]