Budget 2021: Pensions lifetime allowance frozen for five years March 3, 2021 The pensions lifetime allowance will be frozen at its existing level until April 2026, in a move that effectively decreases its value when inflation is taken into account. The Chancellor today said the lifetime allowance would remain at its current £1,073,100 for the next five years, rather than increasing in line with inflation. The move [...]
Travel industry 2022 lookahead: Are we back to square one? December 21, 2021 Less than a month ago, Luis Gallego – chief executive of British Airways’ (BA) owner IAG – was telling aviation stakeholders the industry’s recovery was on its way. Speaking at the Airlines UK conference in Westminster, Gallego revealed that “transatlantic bookings have reached almost 100 per cent of 2019 levels.” “I expect North Atlantic routes [...]
‘Chaotic’ quarantine regime ‘destroying’ economy, says Willie Walsh September 1, 2020 The boss of British Airways’ parent company IAG has accused the government of destroying the economy through its “chaotic approach” to imposing coronavirus quarantine restrictions. Writing in the Times, Willie Walsh said that the “ever-shifting list” of countries requiring travellers to self-isolate meant that the UK has “officially hung up the closed sign”. Walsh’ comments [...]
Wall Street opens in the red ahead of Fed chair testimony March 23, 2021 Wall Street ticked into the red this morning as energy and travel stocks slipped, while investors awaited remarks from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on the health of the US economy. Powell will join US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen to provide testimony to US politicians in Congress later today. He is expected to say that the [...]
Sacked PwC accountant avoids strike-off after drunkenly groping sleeping woman on plane December 17, 2020 Ex-PwC accountant James Phipps has avoided being struck off by a disciplinary body, despite serving time in jail in the US for assaulting a sleeping woman on a plane. Phipps was on a transatlantic British Airways flight in 2018 when he groped a sleeping woman’s breasts and then threw a book at her when she [...]
Government should cap Heathrow passenger charges says British Airways owner IAG February 24, 2019 One of the world’s largest carriers has called on the government to cap the amount passengers are charged for travelling through Heathrow. IAG, the owner of British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus, hit out at the airport for benefiting its shareholders at the expense of passengers. Read more: Over 80m passengers flew through Heathrow Airport [...]
Start of airport testing ‘shot in the arm’ for travel industry October 20, 2020 The launch of the UK’s first pre-departure testing facility at Heathrow Airport has been lauded today amid hopes that it can boost the ailing travel industry. Swissport and Collinson teamed up to launch the facility this morning, with tests costing passengers £80. The programme aims to give travellers their results in less than an hour. [...]
Airline stocks take flight again on Moderna vaccine success November 16, 2020 Airline stocks took flight in the last few minutes as Moderna revealed that its coronavirus vaccine was 95 per cent effective. For the second Monday in a row, shares in listed carriers have soared on the back of announcements regarding vaccines. Last week Pfizer said that its vaccine, which it has developed with Biontech, was [...]
Freedom Day: Where do I need to wear a face mask from today? July 19, 2021 Across England, the final remaining coronavirus restrictions have been lifted. From today, people are no longer required by law to wear masks. The government has said, however, that people will still be expected to wear face masks in certain situations while some businesses, travel operators and local politicians have said that masks will still be [...]
Flexible season tickets on sale from 21 June under new rail plan May 20, 2021 Flexible season tickets will go on sale from 21 June as part of newly announced reforms that represent the most comprehensive overhaul of the UK’s railways in decades. The long-awaited Williams-Shapps review, which was first mooted nearly four years ago, has finally been published by the Department for Transport (DfT). The paper proposes a number [...]