Lufthansa mulls over participation in MSC acquisition of Alitalia’s successor ITA January 25, 2022 German carrier Lufthansa is reportedly deciding whether to participate in the acquisition of Italian airline and Alitalia’s successor ITA with shipping giant MSC. Lufthansa confirmed to Reuters it was in talks with the Swiss shipping company to become a partner in the deal. “We will use the next 90 days to explore all possible options [...]
Going Dutch: Motorists who open door with wrong hand to be fined up to £1,000 January 25, 2022 Motorists who open their car’s door with the wrong hand will risk being fined up to £1,000. Under the new High Code’s updates – coming into force from Saturday – motorists are forced to use the ‘Dutch Reach’ manoeuvre, which requires drivers and passengers to get out of their cars using the hand “on the [...]
Clock is ticking: Govia Thameslink in rush to avoid nationalisation January 25, 2022 Govia Thameslink, one of the UK’s biggest train operators, is reportedly rushing to secure a contract with co-owner Go-Ahead, in an effort to avoid nationalisation. Nationalisation plans were proposed after Go-Ahead failed to file its financial results on Monday – the second time since the Southeastern rail scandal, when the group admitted serious errors and [...]
Airlines to run more flights this summer to keep hold of coveted take-off slots January 24, 2022 Airlines will be forced to run more flights this summer, no matter their passenger numbers, in a bid to keep hold of coveted take-off and landing slots. Carriers must use their flight slots at least 70 per cent of the time, transport secretary Grant Shapps has announced, up from at least 50 per cent of [...]
‘Britain is back in business’: Covid-19 tests for vaccinated travellers scrapped January 24, 2022 Fully vaccinated travellers flying into England will no longer require Covid-19 tests, Boris Johnson has confirmed. The government had been due to review the pandemic travel rules, amid calls from the aviation industry to cut curbs. Chief executives at Ryanair, Easyjet, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Jet2 have sought assurance from government today that it [...]
Ryanair to return to profit with hopes of flying 165m passengers this year, says boss January 24, 2022 Ryanair’s boss expects to return to profit this year, as the Irish airline looks to fly 165m passengers. Chief executive Michael O’Leary has forecast carrier occupancy to climb to between 90 per cent and 95 per cent this summer. The budget airline will once again be profitable once occupancy reaches 80 per cent, O’Leary told [...]
Panasonic invests £522m to produce Tesla EV batteries January 24, 2022 Panasonic has sold its stake in electric car maker Tesla for $3.6bn, a spokesperson for the Japanese company said today. The sale comes as Panasonic looks to raise cash for investing in growth and to reduce its dependence on Tesla. The electronics firm is dominated by Elon Musk’s company, but the two have often had a rocky relationship with executives trading barbs publicly.
Airline bosses call on government to rule out more border closures January 24, 2022 Airline bosses have called on government to rule out the introduction of border closures even if a new Covid-19 variant emerges, as the UK begins to put the pandemic behind it. Government last week brought an end to so-called Plan B restrictions, which saw self-isolation rules and work from home guidance scrapped. With signs of [...]
CarTrawler CEO Cormac Barry on the travel sector’s long road to recovery January 23, 2022 No more PCR tests before arriving in England and most travel restrictions out of the window. International arrivals will instead be asked to take a lateral flow test on arrival and only to self-isolate if it comes back positive. The UK government’s recent announcements were warmly welcomed by the UK’s aviation and tourism sectors, including [...]
Flight or fight: 5G confusion rocks both sides of the Atlantic January 21, 2022 The frenzy around 5G seems to have eased in the last day, as many US carriers – including American Airlines – said they registered a “minor operational impact”.