Going underground (again): Tube journeys up 40 per cent as hospitality reopens April 21, 2021 The number of people taking public transport in London surged back to levels not seen since October last week as punters flocked back to pubs, bars, and shops as they reopened. In total, there were about 1.4m Tube journeys made on 16 April, up from around 1m a week before – an increase of 40 [...]
Buzzbike CEO: Urban bike ownership will be dead in a decade April 21, 2021 It’s been a long-held belief that to make cities greener, more people need to own a bike. That’s not true; I’m of the firm belief that in fact, we’re witnessing the end of bike ownership in urban areas. At the peak of COVID last spring, Boris Johnson stood in his daily briefing and declared we [...]
Virgin Atlantic boss expects to fly full fleet by October April 21, 2021 Virgin Atlantic is eyeing October or November this year to be back flying its full fleet, its chief executive said today. The comment forecasts the end of the pandemic crisis for airlines, as the majority of flights have been grounded for over a year. “We are by no means out of this situation, we will [...]
Kier Group plans to raise up to £240m to ease debt pile April 21, 2021 Kier Group has said it plans to raise up to £240m by offering new shares as it looks to ease its debt burden. The construction firm said the proposed raise, which it plans to launch in the coming weeks, will help to bolster the group’s balance sheet by reducing net debt. The construction firm has [...]
The hidden impact of Brexit: Supply chains are failing UK trade and construction firms April 20, 2021 Since the reopening of the construction sector in the summer of 2020, confidence has been sky high, with last month’s the highest on record since 2014. According to figures from IHS Markit/CIPS, the growth of output had grown in line with increased commercial, domestic and civil engineering projects. These works have largely come in the form of restarting delayed projects, critically [...]
BA looks set to recover from pandemic, so why are its 40-something pilots giving up their gold-plated pensions? April 20, 2021 In turbulent times, when the future of a company is being called into question, it is not uncommon for staff to transfer out of their employer’s defined benefit (DB) pension scheme, if they have one. Although seen as “gold-plated”, some DB scheme members worry about their scheme falling to the pension lifeboat fund, and that [...]
Sold: Esken sells stake in Stobart Air for £2 April 20, 2021 Aviation and energy group Esken has sold its stake in Irish flight operator Stobart Air for £2 this morning to avoid the company collapsing. A buyback sale of £1 for aircraft leasing company Propius was initially tabled by Esken in April 2020 when the pandemic sprung into full force in the UK. The buyback was [...]
United Airlines dives to $2.4bn loss as fuel prices soar April 19, 2021 United Airlines plunged to a $2.4bn adjusted loss for the first quarter of the year, dragged down by a plunge in passenger number and climbing fuel costs. The Chicago-based carrier said that aviation fuel costs rose nearly 30 per cent over the three month period, to $1.70 per gallon. At the same time, the airline [...]
JetBlue given regulatory clearance to join transatlantic dogfight April 19, 2021 The UK’s aviation regulator has today given US carrier JetBlue clearance to begin operating flights to Britain, in a blow for transatlantic rivals such as British Airways. It is the first time since the UK left the EU that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has given regulatory approval to a foreign carrier. New York-based JetBlue [...]
Tesla share price slides following fatal car crash April 19, 2021 Two people have died after a crash involving a Tesla in Texas, with authorities saying there was no-one in the driver’s seat. A Harris County constable told television stations in Houston that there was a person in the front passenger seat and another in a rear passenger seat after the crash in the Houston suburb [...]