Coronavirus: How safe is the post-lockdown commute to work? August 4, 2020 After more than four months of lockdown Londoners are beginning to return to the office as public transport operators take measures to make the once-daily commute as safe as possible from coronavirus. Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave employers “more discretion” from 1 August to bring back their staff if it was safe to do so. [...]
Booking.com to axe a quarter of workforce August 4, 2020 The owner of holiday firm Booking.com has today confirmed that it will cut its 17,000 strong workforce by a quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic. A spokeswoman for Booking Holding confirmed reports of the cuts, which had been announced internally in a video from chief executive Glenn Fogel. “Unfortunately, as a result of the crisis, [...]
Easyjet chief: We will keep flying to quarantined countries if there is demand August 4, 2020 Easyjet’s chief executive Johan Lundgren has said that the airline will not stop flying to destinations if the government chooses to reimpose quarantine restrictions on them while demand to travel to them remains. Speaking to Morning Wire, he said: “People, as we have seen with Portugal for example, are willing to take the sacrifice of [...]
Easyjet to expand flight schedule due to demand for holidays August 4, 2020 Budget airline Easyjet is preparing to expand its flight schedule over the summer to cater for higher than expected demand. The company’s share price soared more than 10 per cent this morning after it said it will fly at around 40 per cent of capacity over the summer following “better than expected” bookings. Previously it [...]
Sir Richard Branson set for space as Virgin Galactic signs Rolls-Royce deal August 4, 2020 Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of private spaceflight firm Virgin Galactic, will be one of the first to go into space in one of his company’s rockets, it has been revealed. As long as two test flights scheduled for the autumn are successful, Branson will go into orbit early next year, Virgin Galactic said [...]
AA attracts rival bids from private equity firms August 4, 2020 Driving association the AA confirmed this morning that it is in talks with three private equity firms over a potential sale. Centerbridge Partners Europe an Towerbrook Capital Partners, acting jointly, have approached the firm. Platinum Equity Advisors and Warburg Pincus have separately approached AA with possible cash offers for the company. “The potential offerors have [...]
Business travel firms call for government help to avoid 10,000 job cuts August 3, 2020 The UK’s business travel sector has called on the government to provide it with an emergency rescue package to help prevent up to 10,000 jobs being lost this year. The chief executive of industry body the Business Travel Association (BTA) has written to chancellor Rishi Sunak, transport secretary Grant Shapps and business secretary Alok Sharma [...]
Thomas Cook buyer Hays Travel to slash 878 jobs August 3, 2020 Hays Travel, which bought Thomas Cook last year after the holiday firm fell into administration, will cut 878 jobs. Nearly a fifth of its total workforce of 4,500 will be made redundant through the cuts as the travel industry continued to suffer the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement, owners John and Irene [...]
Tui bolsters finances with $226m sale and leaseback deal for 737s August 3, 2020 Package holiday firm Tui has agreed a sale and leaseback for five new Boeing 737 Max-8 aircraft with BOC Aviation Ltd, which will raise $226m (£173m) for its finances. The firm said that the deal was part of its “asset right” strategy, which will see it sell existing assets to finance the purchase of new [...]
British Airways owner IAG seeks €2.75bn raise after €3.8bn loss July 31, 2020 British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) today confirmed it will seek to raise a huge €2.75bn (£2.49bn) to act as a coronavirus buffer. Major 25 per cent shareholder Qatar Airways has committed to participating in the raise, and will get two non-exec board members in exchange for its support. IAG said the cash will [...]