Flybe boss: Forget Heathrow v Gatwick – government should look at issues outside of south east September 11, 2016 For the British aviation industry, the debate of the day (and decade) is south-east airport expansion: Heathrow versus Gatwick. Everyone in the industry has an opinion, and Saad Hammad, the chief executive of regional airline Flybe, is no exception. “From my analysis of the Davies report [into airport expansion], it looks like Heathrow is the [...]
A visa fee for European travel could become reality, admits home secretary September 11, 2016 Brits could face being charged for travelling to Europe via a visa scheme being considered by Brussels the newly installed home secretary Amber Rudd has conceded. The EU is considering the introduction of a visa system that would force Brits to pay to travel to Europe, it was yesterday revealed, and Rudd today admitted that it would form [...]
HS2 boss blasted by campaigners after surprise Rolls-Royce exit September 11, 2016 Campaigners have slammed the news that HS2 chief executive Simon Kirby has quit the rail project for Rolls-Royce just weeks ahead of a government decision on whether to greenlight the next phase of the project, accusing him of seeking to leave "before the mess he has presided over is realised". Simon Kirby will leave for the engines giant at the end of [...]
EasyJet: Pilots considering strike action during October half-term holiday over fatigue “risk” September 10, 2016 EasyJet pilots are understood to be considering a strike in early October that would coincide with many families' half-term holiday plans. Around 2,000 pilots based in the UK are being balloted about industrial action by the pilots' union the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa). The ballot will close on 21 September. The move towards industrial [...]
A Jet2 plane has landed safely after circling over Manchester due to a fault with its landing gear – two days after a similar incident September 9, 2016 A Jet2 plane has safely landed at Manchester Airport after circling over greater Manchester for almost an hour due to a fault with its landing gear – just two days after a similar incident. Flight LS875 from Manchester to Faro took off at 08:39 but was then put in holding, drifting above the city trying to burn fuel [...]
Shares in British Airways’ owner up 10 per cent over the last week September 8, 2016 Shares in International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) were up over 3.5 per cent this morning following a positive broker note and its chief exec saying that other airlines were keen to join the group. Deutsche Bank's issued a note this morning indicating a target price of 570p for the group, that owns British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus – a 40 [...]
Easyjet boss says Brexit vote had impact on demand September 8, 2016 The boss of budget airline Easyjet said today that Britain's vote to leave the EU in June had a short-term impact on UK consumer demand for holidays after sterling fell against the euro – but appetite for holidays had since normalised. "We took a consumer hit because people think 'oh my God Europe's more expensive', that normalises," Carolyn [...]
Tottenham Court Road station has reopened after being evacuated and closed due to person hit by train September 8, 2016 Tottenham Court Road station has reopened after being evacuated and closed earlier following a passenger incident. A person was hit by a Central Line train at the station, which was evacuated following the incident. https://twitter.com/centralline/status/773806720489586688 Service has now resumed on the line, but there are severe delays. https://twitter.com/centralline/status/773805864687902720 One Twitter user uploaded a [...]
Adam Smith Institute says selling off half of Network Rail could raise £8bn September 8, 2016 Network Rail should be broken up and sold-off in order to get Britain’s ailing infrastructure back on track and ease the burden on the taxpayer, a high profile think tank said today. The Adam Smith Institute (ASI) predicted that £8bn could be raised for the public purse from the sale of what it referred to [...]
Don’t make Southern Rail a scapegoat for the ideological war between Whitehall and the trade unions September 8, 2016 Southern Rail is raking in tens of millions of pounds in profit from its disastrous management of a crucial commuter line while careering head first into a row with unions and nabbing a £20m taxpayer bailout due to the ensuing problems – at least if you believe the company’s critics. The reality of the situation [...]