Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic spaceship passes construction milestone January 8, 2020 Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic has reached a major milestone in the construction of its next passenger spaceship, it said. All major structural elements have been assembled, and the rocket is standing on its landing gear at Mojave Air and Space Port in California. Read more: Sir Richard Branson set to launch Virgin Galactic IPO [...]
Carlos Ghosn lambasts Japanese government and Nissan for ‘collusion’ January 8, 2020 Carlos Ghosn has accused the Japanese state and Nissan executives of instigating a co-ordinated plot against him, in an explosive first appearance since his sensational escape from Japan last month. In a defiant but rambling press conference in Beirut, the former Nissan-Renault chairman said the charges of financial misconduct for which he had been arrested [...]
How will losing its London licence affect Uber? January 8, 2020 | Sponsored Uber does not appear to have the controls necessary to run a wide-scale transport service and assure passengers and authorities of adequate safety standards. Despite London being one of the company’s top five markets in the world by revenue, the company has shown a marked reluctance to fully co-operate with transport authorities. Time and again, [...]
Airlines divert flights around Iran and Iraq after missile attacks and Boeing crash January 8, 2020 A host of airlines have said they will divert flight routes over the Middle East after Iran launched missile attacks on US air bases in Iraq last night. The announcements come after a Boeing jet also crashed over the Iranian capital overnight, killing 176 people. Airlines including Qantas, Etihad, Singapore and Emirates said they will [...]
Norwegian Air earnings rise as December capacity cuts take effect January 7, 2020 Norwegian Air was forced to cut its capacity for the third month in a row in December, as it scrapped loss-making routes as part of a plan to return to profit. The firm, which recently appointed a new boss, Jacob Schram, has struggled over the last year after rapid expansion. In 2014, Norwegian introduced the UK’s [...]
Minister refuses to confirm election pledge for temporary Hammersmith Bridge January 7, 2020 A transport minister has failed to stand by an election pledge by a fellow minister to build a temporary Hammersmith Bridge. In December, transport minister George Freeman joined environment minister Zac Goldsmith in a Twitter video to confirm that the government wanted to build the temporary river crossing alongside Hammersmith Bridge. Read more: Conservatives pledge [...]
CES 2020: Amazon, Sony and Toyota put mobility centre stage at tech conference January 7, 2020 Amazon signalled a concerted push into the car industry at CES 2020, as it announced a partnership with Lamborghini and other firms working on driverless car tech. It signals the latest move into the mobility sector for one of Silicon Valley’s tech giants, as the internet retailer said it would add its voice assistant Alexa [...]
TfL and Santander to mark 10-year anniversary of Boris bikes January 7, 2020 Santander and Transport for London (TfL) are set to celebrate the 10th anniversary of so-called “Boris bikes”. The hire scheme – officially known as Santander Cycles – began in July 2010 with 315 docking stations over eight boroughs and was informally named after Prime Minister, and then mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Read more: TfL [...]
Elon Musk stripteases at launch of Tesla SUV at new China factory January 7, 2020 Elon Musk left his army of followers hot under the collar this morning, when he posted a video of himself seemingly beginning a striptease on stage at the launch of Tesla’s Model Y in Shanghai. The Tesla boss was at his firm’s new Gigafactory in the city, when he started dancing in front of the [...]
Kick off the decade with a plan for ending the misery of the daily commute January 7, 2020 It’s the start of the year, and you may have already had to suffer through a cancelled train, a packed carriage, or a traffic jam that’s cost you a meeting. Not the best way to kick off a new decade. Among those returning to their offices today are the newly appointed members of the government, [...]