Branson eyes possible £2bn Gatwick deal September 2, 2008 Richard Branson, the billionaire owner of airline Virgin Atlantic, said yesterday he is eyeing a £2bn bid for airports group BAA’s London Gatwick airport if it were put up for sale. A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said: “This is something we have given a lot of serious thought to.” He added: “We have talked to other [...]
Virgin airline bucks gloom, boosts profit August 27, 2008 More business passengers helped boost full-year profits by 21 per cent to £34.8m at Virgin Atlantic despite record fuel prices, the airline revealed yesterday. The long-haul carrier, 51 per cent owned by Sir Richard Branson, said its business passenger numbers rose 22 per cent during the year, as Virgin took market share from British Airways [...]
London is as congested as five years ago says TfL August 7, 2008 London is just as congested as it was five years ago before the introduction of the Congestion Charge, because of roadworks and measures to give priority to pedestrians, buses and cyclists. Transport for London (TfL), which runs the capital’s transport system, said traffic levels had fallen significantly since the Congestion Charge was introduced in January [...]
Budget airlines have become a part of modern life, for better or worse August 1, 2008 Rising oil prices mean that cheap flights are under threat. But is that a good or a bad thing? Such arcane things as the price of oil were until recently beyond the ken of most ordinary folk. But the workings of massive Kazakh exploration companies and the politics of laying pipelines across Uzbekistan are now [...]
Ryanair cuts ticket prices while earnings plummet July 29, 2008 Shares in low cost airline Ryanair sank 22 per cent yesterday after the company warned it may make a €60m (£47.4m) loss this year, as high oil prices eat into margins. It said it had made profit after tax in the first quarter of €21m- a drop of 85 per cent- but the carrier yesterday [...]
Network Rail rejects MPs ‘reward for failure’ jibes July 22, 2008 Network Rail and the government hit back at an MPs’ report yesterday that identified “a catalogue of failings” on Britain’s rail system. The Commons Transport Committee said that despite bonuses of over £200,000 given to three Network Rail directors, passengers were “inconvenienced and humiliated” by three major engineering overruns at the New Year. But Network [...]
Eurotunnel enjoys strong rise in profits July 18, 2008 Eurotunnel, the company which operates the Channel tunnel, posted a rise in half-year profits driven by strong growth in passengers using the Eurostar service. Earnings surged to €26m up from €1m the year before, but the company warned that revenue could be hit in the second half of the year due to the faltering economy [...]
High oil price leads Ryanair to cut flights July 18, 2008 Europe’s largest airline Ryanair said yesterday it will cut flights at Stansted by 14 per cent, or 250 flights, this winter because of soaring fuel costs and high airport charges. The Irish carrier’s chief executive Michael O’Leary said the move will see it carry 900,000 fewer passengers and trim its Stansted fleet to 28 planes [...]
BA warns it will cut flights as prices rise July 16, 2008 British Airways told investors yesterday it would raise prices, cut flights and would do well to break even in 2008. Speaking at the annual shareholders meeting in London, chairman Martin Broughton said: “It will be a considerable achievement for BA to break even this year.” He added: “With oil at $85 a barrel – a [...]
BA snaps up French carrier for £54m July 3, 2008 British Airways struck a deal to buy French business-class rival L’Avion for £54m yesterday to boost its new OpenSkies subsidiary, which flies between continental Europe and America. BA will add L’Avion, which began flying between Paris and London last January, to its OpenSkies unit, which began operations last month. The flag carrier’s OpenSkies service is [...]