Sir Richard Branson sells $300m of Virgin Galactic stock August 13, 2021 Sir Richard Branson has sold $300m worth of shares in Virgin Galactic, a regulatory filing showed, with the proceeds earmarked to help support the billionaire’s other ventures. The 71-year-old, who last month flew to the edge of space in his firm’s first ever manned flight, sold 10.5m shares, or about 4.0 per cent of the [...]
UK’s OneWeb secures $300m from South Korean business giant Hanwha August 13, 2021 UK satellite firm OneWeb has bagged a $300m investment from one of South Korea’s largest business groups. Hanwha, a conglomerate which deals in businesses ranging from retail to explosives, has also secured an 8.8 per cent stake in the satellite company. The investment suggests that OneWeb could be teetering on a $3.4bn valuation, according to [...]
Brits still spooked over public transport as spending lies well below pre-Covid levels August 11, 2021 Covid-19 still has Brits spooked about public transport, despite the UK lifting restrictions, as cash dished out on trains and buses remains well behind pre-pandemic spending. Consumer spending across public transport sits 30 per cent below figures seen in 2019, according to new data from moneysaving app Snoop. Meanwhile, petrol has enjoyed a 90 per [...]
Heathrow passenger numbers begin to rise as restrictions ease August 11, 2021 The most passengers travelled through Heathrow in a single month since the beginning of the pandemic in July, the UK’s largest airport said today. In total, 1.5m passengers used the airport in July, up 74 per cent on last year. It said that the easing of travel restrictions was beginning to improve consumer confidence after [...]
Work on last stage of Tower Bridge to Greenwich cycle route to kick off August 11, 2021 Work on the final stage of a new cycle route which will connect the City of London to Greenwich will start on Monday, Transport for London (TfL) today said. The third section of Cycleway 4, on Evelyn Street in Deptford, is expected to be completed in the spring. Once it is finished, the cycle lane [...]
Virgin Atlantic launches raft of new Caribbean routes for winter sunseekers August 11, 2021 Virgin Atlantic has today announced a raft of new routes serving the Caribbean as it bets on increased customer demand for sun-soaked getaways after the pandemic. The carrier is launching its first direct flight to Barbados from Edinburgh, as well as adding extra flights to the island from Manchester and Heathrow. In total, it will [...]
Chinese car sales fall for third month in a row August 11, 2021 Chinese car sales declined for a third straight month in July, new data today showed, as the global shortage of semiconductors weighed on the world’s biggest auto market. Figures from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) showed that sales fell 11.9 per cent to 1.86m, compared to the same month a year ago. The trade [...]
Norse Atlantic pushes first UK-US flights back to 2022 August 10, 2021 Norse Atlantic Airways has pushed back the date of its first flights to the first quarter of 2022, the new carrier said today, due to ongoing travel restrictions covering transatlantic routes. The airline, which launched earlier this year, said that it thought all 15 of its planes would be in service by summer 2022. Although [...]
Turkish-German airline SunExpress eyes new underserved routes to the UK August 10, 2021 Turkish-German airline SunExpress is looking to expand its route network into the British Isles, in a bid to reap the rewards of the looming post-pandemic travel boom. The budget carrier has issued a what is called a ‘request for proposals’ via Route Exchange, where it can seek different routes. SunExpress only recently announced an additional [...]
Used car sales double as chip shortages deplete new model stocks August 10, 2021 The number of used cars changing hands doubled in the second quarter as stock shortages forced some people to turn to second hand models. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), 2,167,504 used models were bought in the last period, up 108 per cent on 2020. The number sold was also up [...]