Ryanair narrows losses to £300m and expects to fly back into profitability this financial year May 16, 2022 Budget airline Ryanair said this morning it has narrowed annual losses of £302m and hopes to return to “reasonable profitability” in its current financial year. However, chief executive Michael O’Leary said it was “impractical, if not impossible” to give guidance for 2022-23 due to the risk to holiday bookings from Covid and the Ukraine war. The [...]
DfT pledges £1m to finance world’s first net-zero transatlantic flight May 14, 2022 The Department for Transport (DfT) has pledged £1m to finance the world’s first net-zero flight. Transport secretary Grant Shapps has called on the global aviation industry to work on the project, inviting international airlines to collaborate alongside the UK Government to deliver the demonstrator flight in 2023. “This trailblazing net zero emissions flight, a world [...]
Queen’s Platinum Jubilee: TfL marks monarch’s landmark by turning buses purple May 13, 2022 Transport for London (TfL) is turning buses purple in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee this June. The public body will wrap in several buses servicing routes usually associated with the monarchy, including Kensington Palace and Westminster Abbey. “London is looking forward to hosting the historic celebrations of the Platinum Jubilee in June, and it [...]
TfL announces reopening of Jubilee line Night Tube services May 13, 2022 Transport for London (TfL) has announced that Night Tube services on the Jubilee line will resume from next Saturday. Jubilee services will run on Friday and Saturday night, joining the Central and Victoria lines – which reopened in November after the public demanded the reopening to guarantee the safety of more vulnerable people. “From next [...]
TfL pauses works on London bridges’ anti-terror barriers due to financial pressure May 13, 2022 Transport for London (TfL) reportedly paused its plans to instal £35m worth of permanent anti-terror barriers on London bridges because of its financial situation. TfL board papers, which were released ahead of next’s week committee meeting, report that “several planned projects,” won’t go ahead because of “the reduced funding available,” the Evening Standard reported. Called [...]
Rishi Sunak is ‘pragmatic’ about imposing windfall tax on soaring energy profits as Brits’ bills skyrocket May 13, 2022 Chancellor Rishi Sunak said he was “pragmatic” about possibly imposing a windfall tax on the soaring profits of oil and gas giants as customers’ bills rise. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has shown firm opposition to the raid but has conceded “we’ll have to look at it” after BP chief executive Bernard Looney said his investment [...]
Advantage boss exclusive: ‘We need to showcase travel industry’s attractiveness to get talent back’ May 13, 2022 The UK travel industry needs to revamp its image as an exciting yet stable industry to work in if it wants to put an end to its recruitment difficulties. According to Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive at travel agent consortium Advantage, post-pandemic, the UK workforce sees travel and tourism as a very uncertain industry. “The [...]
Building nuclear power plants will only drive up energy bills even further, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng warns May 13, 2022 The Government’s ambitious nuclear power push may initially increase energy bills, the Business Secretary has warned. Kwasi Kwarteng said the plan to build new power plants as part of a new energy strategy may have a “small effect” on bills. But he told the BBC “nuclear is back on the table” because the Government considers [...]
‘The new normal’: Nissan says industry needs to live with chip shortages May 12, 2022 The automotive industry needs to live with semiconductor shortages as they have become “the new normal,” according to Nissan. “Semiconductor shortage is a new normal, same as the pandemic, and we have to live with it because this is not going to finish tomorrow morning,” chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta said today. The Japanese automotive [...]
Volkswagen pledges to build 800,000 EVs by end of 2022 May 12, 2022 Volkswagen has announced it will build 800,000 electric vehicles (EVs) worldwide by the end of the year as of both its environmental and financial strategy. Head of sales Hildegard Wortmann said today EU electric car sales will increase from the 425,000 delivered last year despite total deliveries falling because of macroeconomic and geopolitical issues, including [...]