Coronavirus: Singapore Airlines cuts 96 per cent of flights after travel ban March 23, 2020 Singapore Airlines has warned that the coronavirus epidemic represents the “greatest challenge” it has ever faced as the flag carrier cut 96 per cent of its passenger flights in response to the crisis. Late last night the island city-state took extreme steps to combat the spread of the disease by banning all inbound travellers. In [...]
Coronavirus: Airbus draws new €15bn credit line and cancels dividend March 23, 2020 Aerospace giant Airbus has taken drastic steps to mitigate the financial impact of the coronavirus epidemic, including securing a new €15bn credit facility. The world’s largest plane manufacturer has also suspended its guidance for the coming financial year and binned its 2019 dividend, which was worth approximately €1.4bn. Airbus will also pause its voluntary top [...]
Stagecoach and Go-Ahead scrap dividends over coronavirus March 23, 2020 Stagecoach has issued a coronavirus profit warning today as both it and Go-Ahead scrapped their dividends as travel restrictions bite. The operator warned it will now miss its target for adjusted earnings per share for the 12 months to the start of May. “The quickly developing Covid-19 situation means we no longer expect to achieve [...]
Coronavirus: Government temporarily suspends rail franchise agreements March 23, 2020 The Department of Transport is taking emergency measures to help the rail network survive a 70 per cent drop in passenger numbers as coronavirus prevents travel across the UK. Rail franchise agreements have been suspended temporarily to avoid collapse, and the government will instead pay train companies a small fee to keep operating some services. [...]
Richard Branson pledges $250m to protect jobs from coronavirus March 22, 2020 Richard Branson has pledged that his Virgin empire will invest $250m over the next few months to protect jobs from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The entrepreneur, who owns the Virgin Atlantic airline, said many of his businesses in the travel and leisure sector were in a “massive battle” to survive as flights have [...]
Coronavirus: UK airlines await government rescue package March 22, 2020 The UK’s airlines are hopeful that the government will unveil its special package of measures to combat the financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak in the coming days as they struggle to remain airborne due to the slump in air travel. The aviation sector remains in talks with transport secretary Grant Shapps over the shape [...]
Coronavirus: Emirates Airlines suspends all passenger flights March 22, 2020 Emirates Airlines has today announced it will suspend all passenger flights, becoming the latest carrier to impose stringent measures upon itself in a bid to stave off financial devastation at the hands of the coronavirus outbreak. In addition to the dramatic step, the Dubai-based airline will also reduce the salaries of the majority of its [...]
Coronavirus: Renault chairman says car giant will not be nationalised March 22, 2020 Renault’s chairman is adamant that the French car giant will avoid renationalisation despite the immense pressure being put on the industry by the coronavirus outbreak. Speaking with Le Parisien, Jean-Dominique Senard did not rule out seeking help from the French government, which recently announced sweeping measures to protect businesses, but said a renationalisation “was not [...]
Coronavirus: All Ryanair staff to take a 50 per cent pay cut, says Michael O’Leary March 22, 2020 Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has said he and all of the airline’s staff will have their pay cut in half, as the low-cost carrier attempts to ride out the coronavirus epidemic. Speaking to the Financial Times, the 59-year-old boss of Europe’s biggest airline by passenger numbers said he was working on a best-case scenario of [...]
UK government considers buying equity in airlines to keep them afloat March 21, 2020 The UK government is considering buying equity stakes in airlines and other companies hardest hit by the coronavirus. It comes after warnings that the measures announced by chancellor Rishi Sunak earlier this week will not be enough to save them from collapse. The plans under consideration would see billions of pounds of taxpayer money injected [...]