Willie Walsh to step down as chief executive of British Airways owner IAG January 9, 2020 Willie Walsh, the outspoken CEO of British Airways’ owner International Airlines Group (IAG), is to step down, in a move likely to elicit a sigh of relief among politicians, union bosses and rival airline chiefs alike. IAG said this morning that Walsh, 58, would quit as chief executive in March, and officially retire on 30 [...]
Northern Rail franchise on course for financial collapse in ‘a number of months’ January 9, 2020 The crisis-stricken Northern Rail franchise is on course for a full-scale financial collapse within months, according to transport secretary Grant Shapps. In a statement citing the franchise’s most recent financial information, Shapps said the franchise could only continue to run for “a number of months” before the government stepped in. Read more: Arriva-run Northern Rail [...]
Nissan executives and Japanese officials hit back at Carlos Ghosn January 9, 2020 Former chief executive of Nissan and successor to Carlos Ghosn, Hiroto Saikawa, has slammed his former mentor’s daring escape from the authorities in Tokyo to his childhood home of Lebanon. Ghosn fled the country late last month while awaiting trial for four charges of financial misconduct. Read more: Carlos Ghosn lambasts Japanese government and Nissan [...]
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 [...]