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 [...]
London coronavirus outbreak: Tube travel plunges 70 per cent March 20, 2020 The number of Londoners taking the Tube has plummeted 70 per cent amid the coronavirus outbreak, Transport for London (TfL) confirmed today. The number of London Underground commuters will fall even further as people are urged not to take public transport, TfL also warned. Bus journeys have fallen 40 per cent too, London’s transport body [...]
Coronavirus: British Airways pilots to take 50 per cent pay cut March 20, 2020 British Airways pilots will take a 50 per cent pay cut in April and May as it battles to survive the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. BA’s 4,500 pilots will take two weeks of unpaid leave each month but the reduction to their wages will be spread over the next three months, according to Sky [...]
Uber shares surge by almost 40 per cent after torrid week March 19, 2020 Uber’s stock price has surged by nearly 40 per cent today, after its chief executive said the company would have billions in cash at the end of the year even in the worst case scenarios. Dara Khosrowshahi told analysts today that the ride-sharing app would have $4bn in cash at the end of 2020, and [...]
Coronavirus: Easyjet and Lufthansa bosses warn that industry will need state aid March 19, 2020 Easyjet chief executive Johan Lundgren has warned that he expects to see “a lot of failures” in the global aviation industry due to the damage done by the coronavirus outbreak. Speaking to the BBC, Lundgren said: “I have been working in the industry for 30 years and I have never seen anything like this.” “If [...]
TfL commissioner Mike Brown to stay on during coronavirus pandemic March 19, 2020 Transport for London’s (TfL) commissioner Mike Brown will put off his plans to resign and will stay on during the coronavirus crisis. Brown, who was due to quit in May, sent an email to TfL staff today to say he would stay on to “help lead us through the coming months”. “It has been a [...]
Coronavirus: ‘Zero prospect’ of ban on travel in and out of London, says Downing Street March 19, 2020 Downing Street has said there is “zero prospect” of a ban on travel in and out of London, as part of efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus. This morning Transport for London confirmed it was shutting 40 Tube stations. It will also stop Night Tube operations and close the Waterloo & City Line from [...]
Thomas Cook: Taxpayers will pay for next tour firm collapse, says watchdog March 19, 2020 The collapse of Thomas Cook has left the government’s tourism industry fund severely depleted, meaning taxpayers would have to foot the bill if another tour operator falls into insolvency. Thomas Cook’s shock insolvency and the subsequent repatriation of thousands of customers cost the government at least £156m, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). The [...]