British Airways owner IAG tops up survival bond issue to €1.2bn on increased demand March 18, 2021 British Airways owner IAG increases survival bond sale to €1.2bn on increased demand
Government offers extension of emergency TfL funding deal until May March 18, 2021 The government has today offered to extend its emergency funding deal with Transport for London (TfL) until May, ensuring that services will be able to continue running. The proposed deal would be TfL’s third bailout in the past year, after the body’s revenue plummeted by more than 90 per cent last March during the first [...]
Reducing TfL service levels risks ‘cycle of decline’ in capital, ministers warned March 18, 2021 Forcing Transport for London to reduce service levels as part of its new bailout package could hamper the capital’s recovery from the pandemic and instigate a “cycle of decline”, a group of London business leaders has said. It came as the transport network warned that it had no more mega-projects planned after current works are [...]
Ministers slash electric car grant by £500 despite upcoming petrol ban March 18, 2021 The government has today cut the electric car grant from £3,000 to £2,500, prompting cries of disbelief from the auto and energy industries. From today, customers buying cars which cost less than £35,000 will be eligible for the grant. Those buying cars above this price will receive no subsidies. Ministers said that this was because [...]
National Express careers to £380m loss as pandemic forces emergency stop March 18, 2021 Coach firm National Express this morning reported a £381.4m operating loss for 2020 as the pandemic drove its vehicles off the road for months at a time. The FTSE 250 company saw passenger numbers plunge 80 per cent when last year’s initial lockdowns struck, sending profit and revenue tumbling. For the full year, it swung [...]
Car dealer Lookers predicts small profit after 2020 turbulence March 18, 2021 Car dealership Lookers this morning said that it was expecting a full year profit of £10m for 2020, beating analyst expectations of a small loss. Shares in the firm rose 5.4 per cent as markets opened this morning. In an update, the FTSE 250 firm said it was still working on its full accounts for [...]
More than 2,000 TfL bus drivers have caught Covid-19 since October March 17, 2021 More than 2,000 Transport for London (TfL) bus drivers contracted Covid-19 in the four months between October and January, new data from the operator has shown. According to figures collected from the contractors which run the capital’s bus services, 2,017 of around 25,000 drivers caught the virus in that period. The operator only started collecting [...]
Eurostar ‘in advanced talks’ with UK and French governments over state-backed loans March 17, 2021 Eurostar is reportedly in advanced talks with the UK and French governments to secure state-backed loans after passenger numbers tumbled during the pandemic. The head of French rail group SNCF, which is the largest shareholder in Eurostar, said it needs to finalise the deal by next month to help it survive the rest of the [...]
Unite plans 23 days of strikes at Heathrow over ‘fire and rehire’ plans March 17, 2021 Unite this afternoon said that it was planning 23 days of strikes at Heathrow Airport from the beginning of April in protest at the airport’s restructuring plans. There will be 41 strikes over the period, the union said, ending on 25 April. Unite said that the strike had been called because of the airport’s decision [...]
Waterloo and City line to reopen as early as May, London Underground chief says March 17, 2021 London Underground chief says Waterloo and City line to reopen as early as May