Airlines getting off scot-free with no fines issued for decades, says Which June 30, 2023 Airlines are getting off scot-free from penalties with no fines having been issued due to regulatory action in two decades, according to the consumer group Which. Which said Britain’s aviation watchdog – the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) – should be doing more to “name and shame” airlines, withdraw licences and pursue action “in the courts” [...]
Virgin Galactic completes first successful commercial flight in win for Branson June 29, 2023 Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic has successfully completed its first commercial flight, taking paying customers to space after nearly two decades of preparation. The British-billionaire’s spacecraft, VSS Unity, took off from Spaceport America in New Mexico at 4.04pm GMT this afternoon, carried under the wing of mothership VSS Eve. After jetting nearly 50,000 ft, the [...]
Rail operators forced to cough up as delay repay claims double June 29, 2023 Rail operators closed more than double the number of compensation claims for delays in the 12 months to March, reflecting in part a “deterioration in train punctuality and reliability” as well as the ongoing effect of strike action. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) – the sector’s watchdog – said there were 5.9m delay [...]
Elizabeth Line: £19bn route suspended due to SWAN on the tracks June 29, 2023 The Elizabeth Line was suspended on major parts of the route this afternoon as a swan caused major disruption on the popular £19bn route. TFL’s website said that an “obstruction” had caused there to be no service between Heathrow Airport and Abbey Wood, a route that takes travellers through the centre of the city. The [...]
Will millions of Brits flock down under following post-Brexit Aussie visa changes? June 29, 2023 From 1 July, Australia will increase the maximum age of its 18-30 working holiday visa to 35, allowing more than 16m young Brits to live and work down under. The change comes as a result of the recently announced Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement – the UK’s first since leaving the EU – which altered previous [...]
Business travel is back and ‘buoyant’, new data shows June 28, 2023 Business travel is back and “buoyant”, according to new data from the Advantage Travel Partnerships’ Global Business Travel Review, with the business community booking more trips and for longer periods. Booking volumes in the UK’s business travel market, covering aviation, rail and accommodation, hit 90.8 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of [...]
Ads watchdog slams car firms for exaggerating ‘ultra-fast’ EV charging June 28, 2023 Ads for Hyundai and Toyota electric cars have been banned for exaggerating the speed of recharging and failing to mention the limited availability of the fastest chargers across the road network. Three ads for Hyundai’s IONIQ 5, seen in January last year, all stated that the car could be charged from 10% to 80% in 18 minutes using a [...]
BAE Systems and Babcock set to meet with ministers over ESG investment concerns June 27, 2023 Ministers are set to hold talks on Wednesday with the bosses of a number of major defence companies, over concerns that socially conscious investing is hurting the sector. Andrew Griffith, the economic secretary to the Treasury and James Cartlidge, defence procurement minister, will meet bosses from BAE systems, Babcock International and QinitiQ tomorrow, Sky News [...]
Aston Martin aims to quadruple profit within five years under new strategy June 27, 2023 Aston Martin outlined plans today to double revenues and quadruple profits within the next five years, as the firm bolsters its electrification strategy and continues to ride the wave of a recent share price surge. At its capital markets day, the marque told shareholders it would aim for revenues of £2.5bn and EBITDA of £800m [...]
London Overground ties up two year extension with train operator Arriva June 27, 2023 London Overground will be operated by Arriva for another two years, as its seven-and-a-half year contract was extended this morning. The train operator has run the capital’s transport network since 2016, with it now set to continue until May 2026. It was not made clear how much the extension is worth. This comes as the UK’s [...]