Shapps warns fuel retailers he will ‘call out any foot-dragging’ on price transparency August 8, 2023 Energy Secretary Grant Shapps has warned fuel retailers he will “call out any foot-dragging” over the sharing of pump price data. He made the comment as drivers were hit by the largest weekly rise in petrol prices for more than a year. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is planning to launch an interim voluntary [...]
Tesla ‘master of coin’ quits: CFO Zachary Kirkhorn to leave after 13 years August 8, 2023 Tesla chief financial officer Zachary Kirkhorn has announced that he will be departing the company after 13 years with the the electric vehicle and solar panel maker. Mr Kirkhorn, given the Game of Thrones-style title ‘master of coin’ by the company, stepped down on Friday but will remain with Tesla through the end of the year to “support [...]
Virgin Atlantic pilots are tired and overworked, union warns as strike threat looms August 7, 2023 Virgin Atlantic pilots are tired and overworked, according to a survey by the UK’s pilots union, with over three quarters of the airline’s pilots saying they had flown with a tired colleague who was “clearly not fit to fly”. Over 88 per cent of the 900 pilots surveyed by British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) had [...]
Virgin Galactic is set to fly tourists to the stars – but can space tourism become more than a hobby for the super rich? August 7, 2023 Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is set to launch its first tourists to space on Thursday this week. The Galactic 02 mission, which follows the successful launch of the companies’ first commercial flight in June, will carry three paying customers – an 80-year old Olympian and a Caribbean mother-daughter duo. Launching from Spaceport America in New [...]
City Airport chief: Post-Brexit London needs us to expand – and fast August 7, 2023 London City Airport’s proposed expansion is “critically important” to keeping the capital ahead of international rivals, its chief executive has argued, as the business travel hub fights with a local council for permission to go ahead with the project. City Airport has been locked in a battle with Newham Council over plans to expand its [...]
Virgin Atlantic pilot strike action up in the air amid fatigue row August 6, 2023 Virgin Atlantic is heading into turbulence pilots are revving up for a potential strike later this year, demanding an end to the pandemic changes that aimed to rescue the airline from bankruptcy. British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa), the union representing the pilots, has raised “serious concerns” about pilot fatigue and wellbeing as 96 per cent [...]
Holidaymakers warned of ‘financial sting’ with airport parking – but which is the worst culprit? August 4, 2023 Holidaymakers are being charged up to four times more for airport parking if they pay on arrival rather than in advance, according to new research. Consumer group Which? said its analysis of prices at 16 UK airport car parks revealed the “serious financial sting”. It compared prices for a week’s stay in mid-August paid for [...]
A battery a minute: New car registrations surge as EVs eat into market share August 4, 2023 One new battery electric vehicle was registered every 60 seconds in July, as the UK’s new car market recorded a full year of growth. Registrations of new cars were up more than a quarter (28.3%) in July compared with the same month last year, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders [...]
British Airways staff secure 13.1 per cent pay increase – and £1,000 one-off sum August 4, 2023 British Airways (BA) workers have secured a 13.1 per cent pay increase, trade union Unite has said. Staff at the airline will receive the pay increase over an 18-month period, as well as a £1,000 one off payment. The pay offer was “overwhelmingly” accepted by Unite members after a ballot was held, the trade union [...]
Sadiq Khan expands London ULEZ scrappage scheme in wake of Uxbridge by-election loss August 4, 2023 The Mayor of London has announced a major expansion of financial support designed to ease the impact of the capital’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez) on people’s pockets. Sadiq Khan said every Londoner with a polluting car facing charges under Ulez will now be able to receive a grant of up to £2,000 to support [...]