Costain swings to a loss after £95m problem contract hit September 14, 2020 Infrastructure firm Costain swung to a loss after taking a £95m hit on two problem contracts, it announced this morning. The figures Costain reported a loss before tax of £92.3m in the first half of the year, compared to profit of £8.4m last year. Revenue also dropped from £594.1m to £459.9m during the period. The [...]
Plan for flexible UK rail tickets now facing a delay September 13, 2020 Plans by train operators to provide flexible season tickets to cater for people returning to the office part-time have been reportedly been stifled by government inactivity. Rail companies last month submitted plans to the Department for Transport to offer Carnet-style ticketing, which would allow commuters to use up their rail trips over a certain period [...]
Leading rail pension scheme warns of £15bn shortfall under new rules September 11, 2020 The Railways Pension Scheme (RPS) has warned that a proposed regulatory shake-up of funding rules would create a £15bn hole in its finances. The £30bn scheme serves 350,000 members across the UK’s rail sector, including rail managers and train drivers. It has set out its concerns to the Pensions Regulator following plans, which were unveiled [...]
Singapore Air to cut a fifth of workforce amid pandemic chaos September 11, 2020 Singapore Air today said it will cut roughly a fifth of its workforce due to the catastrophic impact of the coronavirus outbreak on aviation demand. The airline will slash 4,300 positions — the largest job losses in its history — with the cuts impacting its main brand as well as its Silkair and Scoot divisions. [...]
Heathrow passenger numbers plummet more than 80 per cent in August September 11, 2020 Heathrow Airport has reported an 81.5 per cent fall in passengers for August compared with last year and has called on the government again to change quarantine rules. The London-based airport was the busiest in Europe prior to the Covid-19 pandemic but has suffered significantly this year. It said its passengers from North America had [...]
London transport freedom passes for all – but at what cost? September 11, 2020 Earlier this week it was reported that senior London business figures were pressing the mayor and Transport for London (TfL) to offer free travel on public transport to encourage the public, in their guise as potential consumers, to venture into the city and make free with their hard-earned pounds. Ewan Venters, CEO of Fortnum and [...]
Mainland Portugal added to England’s quarantine list September 10, 2020 Portugal has been added to England’s quarantine list after a consistent rise in new cases, transport secretary Grant Shapps has confirmed. From four o’clock on Saturday morning, travellers from mainland Portugal, Hungary, French Polynesia and Reunion will have to self-isolate for 14 days. In a tweet Shapps said: “Data shows we need to remove PORTUGAL [...]
Exclusive: Private jet flights soar back as commercial recovery lags September 10, 2020 The European private jet industry has recovered at a far quicker rate than its commercial counterpart, Morning Wire can reveal, in a rare glimmer of light for global aviation, which has been hammered by coronavirus. According to data from business jet brokers Colibri Aircraft, the number of European business aircraft departures in July was only [...]
Bring in airport testing by end of the month or risk ‘ruin’, airline bosses warn September 10, 2020 The bosses of the UK’s largest airlines have called on the government to implement an airport testing regime by the end of the month, warning that the country risks “economic ruin” otherwise. In a letter to Boris Johnson, the chief executives of British Airways, Easyjet, Ryanair, Virgin Atlantic, and Tui, among other, said that the [...]
McLaren puts iconic Woking HQ up for sale for £200m September 10, 2020 Sports car maker McLaren has put its iconic headquarters near Woking in Surrey up for sale in a bid to shore up its balance sheet amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Sky News first reported that the firm has instructed property agent Colliers to begin marketing a sale-and-leaseback of the McLaren Technology Centre, with offers in [...]