Keir Starmer urges compromise on rail strikes after latest pay deal rejected December 5, 2022 Both the unions and the train operators need to compromise to bring the ongoing railway strikes to an end, according to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. “Both sides need to compromise, both sides need to finish the negotiations and the government needs to drive them forward,” Starmer told ITV’s Good Morning Britain. “The government’s been [...]
Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary: EU Commission ‘lacks the bottle’ to go against governments December 5, 2022 The European Commission “lacks the bottle” to go against the interests of national governments, according to Ryanair’s boss Michael O’Leary. Appearing in front of an Irish transport committee late last week, O’Leary said it was unfair that intra-EU short-haul flights were paying environmental taxes, while the more polluting long-haul flights remained exempt, the Express first [...]
National Express appoints interim as new CFO December 5, 2022 National Express Group has appointed its interim chief financial officer into the top finance role officially today. Former KPMG partner James Stamp will step into the role with immediate effect, having served as interim group CFO and been a member of the board since the beginning of November. The incoming CFO joined the company in [...]
Oil prices climbing fast as G7 cap of £49 on Russian crude barrel comes into effect December 5, 2022 Oil prices have risen in response to an agreement by the G7 group of nations which came into effect on Monday. Brent crude climbed to more than 86 dollars (£68) in Asia trading as the price of Russian oil was capped at 60 dollars (£49) a barrel. The move is part of increased pressure by [...]
Rail strikes: RMT rejects eight per cent pay rise offer December 4, 2022 Rail union the RMT has rejected an 8 per cent pay rise offered by rail operators, aimed at heading off strikes planned for next week. “We have rejected this offer as it does not meet any of our criteria for securing a settlement on long term job security, a decent pay rise and protecting working [...]
Activists protest at British Museum and Scottish Power over rising energy bills December 3, 2022 Campaigners have staged protests in buildings including the British Museum and Scottish Power HQ against rising energy bills and “sky-rocketing” levels of fuel poverty, according to organisers. Members of the grass-roots movements Don’t Pay UK and Fuel Poverty Action said campaigners had bedded down with blankets, sleeping bags and hot water bottles in the foyer [...]
Strike chaos: TSSA announces more railway staff will walk out ahead of Christmas December 3, 2022 Thousands more railway station staff are set to walk out this month, as union bosses and ministers held talks at Parliament yesterday. The TSSA union served notice for strike action in a further six train operating companies and Network Rail yesterday, meaning thousands more workers will walk out on 17 December. This takes the number [...]
Wizz Air pandemic turnaround well underway as passenger numbers fly December 2, 2022 Wizz Air’s pandemic turnaround is well underway, with passenger numbers increasing soaring in the past year. The European carrier carried 3.6 million passengers in November, representing a 70 per cent increase compared to November 2021. In the past 12-months, Wizz Air has carried 44.1 million travellers – a rise of more than 120 per cent. [...]
Wizz Air’s boss: Airline not good candidate for M&A December 1, 2022 Wizz Air is not a good candidate for M&A but it will focus instead on organic growth, boss Jozsef Varadi commented. The chief executive’s remarks came in response to a question on whether Wizz would ever consider acquiring rival Easyjet. Easyjet on the other hand recently said it would not rule out any potential takeovers [...]
Airline industry racked up £180bn collective net loss since pandemic December 1, 2022 The airline industry has racked up a collective net loss of almost $220bn (£180bn) since the Covid pandemic began, according to recent research. Analysis published today by analytics firm Cirium shows that revenues for the world’s airline groups went down by more than 50 per cent in 2020, ending 2021 still 40 per cent below [...]