Probe: Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space flight ‘deviated’ September 2, 2021 US regulators have launched a probe into Sir Richard Branson’s flight to the edge of space after the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo vehicle deviated on return to Earth. The billionaire businessman became the first owner-astronaut to take part in a mission when taking off in July, which he hailed as an “experience of a lifetime”. But [...]
Give TfL ‘fair funding deal’ or risk capital’s recovery, London leaders plead September 2, 2021 Politicians, business leaders, and union representatives from across London have today written to Grant Shapps to plead for a “fair funding deal” for Transport for London (TfL) in the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR). They warned that “inadequate funding” could lead to more services being cut, which could prevent some people from returning to public [...]
Exclusive: Half of all UK businesses currently unable to run at full capacity September 2, 2021 Half of all UK businesses are still unable to run at full operational capacity, according to new research shared with City A.M. this afternoon. Global logistics firm One World Express commissioned a survey of more than 350 decision-makers within UK businesses. It found that 50 per cent had not seen improvements in business performance since lockdown restrictions began [...]
Summer holidays: Wizz Air passenger numbers jump more than 50 per cent September 2, 2021 Wizz Air’s passenger numbers surged more than 50 per cent in August to around 3.5m, as travellers flocked to the budget airline for their summer holiday. In the year to August, however, passenger numbers were down 44.6 per cent to some 14.7m, as restrictions across Europe in the 12 months prior severely curbed travel. Shares [...]
Cazoo snaps up data firm Cazana for £25m as expansion continues September 2, 2021 Cazoo today announced that it had bought car pricing data platform Cazana for £25m as it continues its rapid expansion. The used car marketplace said that the purchase would help it improve its vehicle buying and pricing across the UK and Europe. It comes less than a week after the platform, the brainchild of serial [...]
Investigators into Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash urge Russians to come forward September 2, 2021 The international team investigating the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine seven years ago has appealed to Russians in the city of Kursk to come forward with information about the deployment of the missile that investigators say downed the plane, killing all 298 people on board. The call for witnesses included an [...]
Ryanair beats August passenger number forecasts as holidaymakers escape to the sun September 2, 2021 Budget carrier Ryanair beat its passenger number targets for August as holidaymakers took advantage of looser travel restrictions to seek the European sunshine. The Irish airline flew 11.1m passengers last month, more than the 10.5m it had previously predicted, and double the number it carried in June. On Tuesday chief executive Michael O’Leary said that [...]
Go-Ahead pledges to spend £250m a year on SMEs from 2022 September 2, 2021 Bus and train operator Go-Ahead Group has pledged to spend at least £250m a year with SMEs from 2022 onwards, the firm said this morning. At the moment, the FTSE 250 firm works with 3,200 SMEs, which account for 75 per cent of its supply chain. They provide goods and services such as mobile ticketing, [...]
BMW tables plans to slash emissions from car life cycle by 40 per cent September 2, 2021 BMW has said it plans to slash its carbon emissions from the life cycle of its cars, from their production onwards, by 40 per cent before 2030. The carmaker has upped its previous target of reducing harmful emissions by a third, despite being reluctant to set a concrete deadline for phasing out fossil-fuel reliant vehicles. [...]
Exclusive: International tourism bounces back with Europe leading the pack September 2, 2021 The Covid-19 pandemic forced international tourism to grind to a halt. Borders were closed, airlines shut down and, for a while, many were worried that the industry would never recover, such was the financial damage of global lockdown. But after a difficult pandemic year, tourism is once again on the rise with Europe and the [...]