Abellio boss ‘confident’ review head will not scrap franchise model August 19, 2019 The boss of Abellio has said he is “confident” the rail franchise model will not be scrapped just a day after his firm took over one of the leading contracts in the UK. Dominic Booth, the managing director of Abellio, which officially took over the East Midlands franchise from Stagecoach today, said he thought the [...]
Pilots union lambastes Ryanair ‘bullying’ amid attempts to block strike August 19, 2019 Britain’s airline pilots’ union has blasted Ryanair for seeking a High Court injunction to block strike action by its pilots this week. The British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa) said the budget flyer had “wasted time” by trying to use “legal technicalities” to persuade the High Court to block a strike due to take place on Thursday [...]
Abellio takes over East Midlands franchise from Stagecoach August 19, 2019 Dutch train firm Abellio has officially taken over the East Midlands franchise from Stagecoach. Abellio will operate the franchise, which connects London St Pancras to the East Midlands, for the next eight years from today. Read more: Government signs controversial East Midlands contract with Abellio It said it was bringing £600m worth of investment to [...]
Uber poaches new UK boss from Twitter founder Dorsey’s Square August 19, 2019 Uber has nabbed one of Twitter chief Jack Dorsey’s right-hand staff as its new general manager for its operations in the UK and Ireland. Melinda Roylett, who was most recently head of Europe at Dorsey’s fintech firm Square, will start her role at Uber today, Morning Wire can reveal. Before joining Wall Street-listed Square last [...]
Thousands of Boeing 737 Max flights booked despite lack of regulatory approval August 18, 2019 Airlines have sold tens-of-thousands of flights aboard Boeing’s 737 Max for the last few months of 2019, despite the fact the jet is still banned from the skies after two crashes killed 346 people. Tui, Norwegian and United Airlines have booked people on to more than 32,000 flights on the 737 Max 8 and 9 [...]
Nextmove cancels order for 85 Teslas over paint defects and faulty wiring August 16, 2019 German car rental firm Nextmove has cancelled most of its order of 100 cars from Tesla over quality problems, it said today. The firm said the more than €5m (£4.57m) deal was called off after it was unable to reach a deal with Tesla over how to fix a series of issues with the cars. [...]
Cathay Pacific boss steps down amid Hong Kong protests August 16, 2019 The chief executive of Cathay Pacific has resigned after coming under increasing pressure from the Chinese government over his staff’s role in protests which have rocked Hong Kong. Rupert Hogg steps down after the company fired four members of staff for joining protests in Hong Kong against the government’s ties to the Chinese authorities. Read [...]
Turkish pension fund in exclusive talks to buy British Steel August 16, 2019 Turkey’s military pension fund, Oyak, has entered exclusive talks a deal to buy British Steel, months after the business went into administration. The fund, through its investment arm Ataer Holdings, hopes to close the deal by the end of the year. The Official Receiver, who has run the process, said: “Following discussions with a number [...]
Ofgem rips up supply licence for under-fire URE Energy August 15, 2019 Troubled energy supplier URE saw its licence to supply electricity ripped up in front of its eyes today after multiple warnings from regulator Ofgem. The decision to revoke its permission to supply customers came after the company refused to meet its £209,000 debt to a fund set up by the regulator. Read more: Chair of [...]
Boeing suffers fresh blow as it delays long-range jet amid 737 Max struggles August 15, 2019 Boeing has pushed back the development of an ultra-long-range version of its upcoming 777X jet as it struggles to get on top of the crisis which has left its best-selling 737 Max grounded for six months. The 777X will have a range of 10,500 miles, meaning it can make a 21-hour non-stop flight from Sydney [...]