British Airways dives to £4bn loss as flights reduced by two-thirds March 3, 2021 British Airways (BA) fell to a £3.9bn operating loss in 2020, owner IAG revealed today, more than half of the airlines group’s total loss for the year. According to the FTSE 100 firm’s annual reports, BA’s loss dwarved that of its stablemates Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling. These fell to losses of €563m, €1.4bn, and [...]
Budget 2021: Aviation firms accuse Sunak of ignoring sector March 3, 2021 The aviation industry has reacted furiously to today’s Budget, accusing Chancellor Rishi Sunak of ignoring the sector, which has been battered by the pandemic. Aviation firms had been lobbying hard for sector-specific relief for the industry, which has been in a tailspin for an entire year due to wide-ranging travel restrictions. Although the sector will [...]
Ryanair to launch own vaccine passport tool over delay fears March 3, 2021 Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said this morning that the budget carrier is adding a tool to its app to allow passengers to upload vaccine certificates and negative coronavirus tests to get travel going again. Speaking to the parliamentary transport select committee this morning, the Irishman said that the airline had done so because it [...]
Covid crisis deepened for airlines in January March 2, 2021 International air traffic fell 86 per cent in January compared to pre-crisis levels
Sadiq Khan urges Rishi Sunak to extend vehicle payment deferrals for taxi drivers March 2, 2021 Sadiq Khan has written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak ahead of tomorrow’s Budget to urge him to extend payment deferral for motor finance agreements so that private hire and taxi drivers can keep their vehicles. Many drivers lease or purchase their cars using financing options. When the pandemic struck, a six month deferral for payments was [...]
Volvo joins race to quit petrol and diesel cars March 2, 2021 Volvo has this morning announced that it will switch to an all-electric range by the end of the decade. The Swedish automaker joins a host of other car makers in announcing a sweeping transition away from petrol and diesel vehicles in recent months. It said that 50 per cent of its global sales should be [...]
Ryanair flies just 500,000 people in February as travel restrictions continue March 2, 2021 Irish carrier Ryanair flew just 500,000 people in February as widespread coronavirus restrictions all but ended air travel. In the same month last year the airline carried 10.5m passengers, but over the last 12 months the pandemic has totally reshaped the aviation industry. Since last March, when the pandemic hit Europe, the airline has flown [...]
FCA ends probe into car dealership Lookers March 2, 2021 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has this morning closed its investigation into car dealer Lookers for the possible miss-selling of products. The regulator said that it would not impose penalties on the FTSE 250 firm, but said it had made its concerns clear about the “historic culture, systems and controls”. As a result, Lookers said [...]
Takeover target Signature Aviation swings to $24m loss March 2, 2021 Takeover target Signature Aviation today hailed its “resilient performance” in 2020 as the private jet firm swung to a $24m (£17.3m) loss before tax. After the worst year in history for aviation, the company said that its flight activity was down just 17 per cent in February, compared to 77 per cent last April. It [...]
Ministers ‘absolutely committed’ to securing future of Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant March 1, 2021 Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has said that the government is “absolutely committed” to securing the future of car manufacturing at the Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire. Over the last week, ministers have been in talks with the plant’s owners Stellantis over whether the company will develop its new Astra model at the plant. Stellantis – [...]