Virgin Atlantic to cut 3,150 jobs and quit Gatwick base May 5, 2020 Virgin Atlantic will cut a third of its workforce and cease its operations at Gatwick airport in a bid to survive the coronavirus crisis, the embattled airline announced today. The carrier, which will cut 3,150 of 10,000 strong workforce, is the latest airline to announce major job cuts after Ryanair and British Airways. In a [...]
Travel industry calls on government to extend refund payment timetable May 5, 2020 The UK’s leading travel association has called on the government to extend the time period in which holiday firms must refund customers or risk “huge job losses”. Under current rules, travel firms are legally obliged to refund customers within 14 days, a timeline that ABTA chief Mark Tanzer described as “impossible” in the current circumstances. [...]
Qantas halts plans for non-stop flights to London and New York May 5, 2020 Australian airline Qantas has suspended plans to commence record-breaking non-stop flights to London and New York due to disruption caused by coronavirus. It was reported that the carrier has made the decision to delay the so-called “Project Sunrise”, which was due to launch in 2023, for an indefinite period. As a result, the airline has [...]
Ryanair flies just 40,000 people in April as demand evaporates May 5, 2020 Europe’s largest low-cost carrier Ryanair revealed that passenger numbers fell 99.6 per cent in April as the coronavirus crisis continued to cripple global aviation. Last month the airline operated 600 flights, a tiny fraction of the 75,500 it had budgeted, and flew just 40,000 people. By contrast, in April last year the airline flew 13.5m [...]
Volkswagen warns manufacturing costs set to rise as car demand collapses May 5, 2020 Volkswagen has warned that the car industry is likely to come under even more pressure as parts makers increase the prices of crucial components due to the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking to the Financial Times, Volkswagen’s board member for procurement Stefan Sommer said that some suppliers were raising prices to offset the fact that they are [...]
GE plans to cut up to 13,000 jobs in further blow to US aviation sector May 4, 2020 General Electric (GE) said today it is planning on cutting the global workforce of its aviation unit by as much as 25 per cent, or up to 13,000 jobs. The announcement is the latest blow to fall on the beleaguered aviation sector which has been hit hard by the freeze in travel triggered by the [...]
TfL should increase fares to promote social distancing, says think tank May 4, 2020 Transport for London (TfL) should increase fare prices at peak times once the coronavirus lockdown is eased, according to one of the country’s top think tanks. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) released a new report today, suggesting measures such as increased fare prices would act as a disincentive for people catching public transport once [...]
US airline stocks buffeted by Warren’s surprise sell-off May 4, 2020 US airline stocks have dropped sharply today as markets reacted to veteran trader Warren Buffett’s decision to sell all of his firm’s stakes in the US’ four main carriers. At the end of last year, Berkshire Hathaway held considerable positions in the four, including 11 per cent of Delta, 10 per cent of American Airlines, [...]
European Commission approves €7bn in state aid for Air France May 4, 2020 The European Commission has approved €7bn (£6.2bn) in emergency funding for embattled airline Air France, saying that if it did not it could cause “severe harm to the French economy”. The aid package will consist of both a state guarantee on loans and a shareholder loan. Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s top competition official, said: This [...]
Norwegian Air shareholders approve $1bn rescue plan May 4, 2020 Norwegian Air’s shareholders have approved a $1bn (£800m) rescue plan by an overwhelming margin this morning, paving the way for the embattled airline to tap government funding of up to 2.7bn krone (£320m). Under the scheme, which was backed by 95 per cent of shareholders, nearly $1bn of the company’s debt will be converted into [...]