Revealed: Why the government bailed out Flybe, but not Thomas Cook January 15, 2020 At first glance, some might find it hard to understand why the government decided to save Flybe – a small, regional airline – but not holiday giant Thomas Cook. After all, when the latter went bust in September more than 150,000 Brits were left stranded abroad, prompting a mammoth repatriation effort by the Civil Aviation [...]
Carlos Ghosn claims French ambassador warned him in advance of ‘Nissan plot’ January 15, 2020 Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn has claimed the French ambassador warned him just before his November 2018 arrest that his own company was plotting against him. “Frankly, I was shocked by the arrest and the first thing I asked is make sure Nissan knows so they can send me a lawyer,” Ghosn told Reuters in [...]
British Airways owner files complaint over Flybe bailout January 15, 2020 The bailout of regional airline Flybe from near-collapse was today the subject of an official complaint to the European Commission by the owner of British Airways, International Airlines Group. Flybe was kept aloft on Tuesday after the government provided support, thought to involve the deferral of a tax bill worth more than £100m. But IAG said [...]
Northern Line misery as severe Tube delays and Bank branch issues hit commuters January 15, 2020 Northern Line commuters face a miserable journey to work today after a faulty train left the line running with severe Tube delays southbound and a limited Bank branch service. Southbound passengers changed at Camden Town this morning for Bank services before Transport for London (TfL) told them no Bank trains were running after the earlier [...]
Flybe saved from brink of collapse by government deal January 14, 2020 Flybe has staved off collapse after shareholders and the government struck a controversial deal that will review the regional airline’s air passenger duty contributions. Major shareholders, including Virgin Atlantic and Stobart Group, pledged to inject “additional funding” to keep the airline running. They said this would come “alongside government initiatives”. The deal came a day [...]
Boeing reveals it had more cancellations than orders in 2019 January 14, 2020 Boeing reported its lowest number of net yearly orders in at least 30 years today, as the fallout from last year’s grounding of the 737 Max rolled on. The US aerospace manufacturer had 87 more cancellations than purchases in 2019, thanks mass cancellations of the grounded 737 Max. Read more: Boeing 737 Max ‘designed by [...]
Dieselgate: Six Volkswagen executives charged with fraud in Germany January 14, 2020 Six Volkswagen executives have been charged with fraud, after they were accused of “deliberately misleading” authorities and customers in the months leading up to the diesel emissions scandal in 2015 by failing to tell authorities about cheating devices. The 876-page document does not name the people accused, but says three of them “knowingly and willingly [...]
Q&A: Why would cutting air passenger duty help Flybe – and how is it damaging? January 14, 2020 In a bid to save regional airline Flybe, chancellor Sajid Javid is meeting officials from the business and transport departments today. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already shown he is against conventional bailouts for struggling companies – as he showed when he decided against keep Thomas Cook afloat in September. But one option still on [...]
London Waterloo named as UK’s busiest rail station January 14, 2020 London Waterloo has been named as the country’s busiest train station, with nine of the top 10 all located in the capital. The Office of Rail and Road released its annual passenger figures today, revealing there was 94.2m entries and exits at Waterloo in 2018-19. The figure was the lowest number of passenger journeys for [...]
Ministers ‘considering rescue loan’ for struggling airline Flybe January 14, 2020 The government is considering a rescue package for Flybe that could include a short term loan which falls within state aid rules, according to reports. The BBC reported the loan would come from a pot of government money which is available to firms which does not breach state aid rules. Nissan was reportedly encouraged to [...]