Both GM’s Opel and PSA lost European market share last month as the firms mull a deal February 16, 2017 A bumper European car market has underlined the reasons behind a prospective deal between General Motors (GM) and PSA over GM's European business. Both companies posted weaker European sales in January than any other carmaker according to the Association of European Carmakers (ACEA). They also lost market share to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in Europe – [...]
Wizz Air boss says new base at London Luton Airport underlines airline’s “commitment to the UK” February 16, 2017 Low-cost airline Wizz Air has announced plans to open a UK base at London Luton Airport. The new base in Britain, its 28th in total, will open on 18 June this year with a new Airbus A320 aircraft. The carrier also plans to bolster its presence at Luton, where it is currently the second largest [...]
Join the debate over Britain’s vital new runway at Heathrow airport February 16, 2017 What is the world’s most connected city? New York? Paris? Tokyo? No. It’s London, which last May beat all those cities to top the inaugural Global Connectivity Ranking, with 351 direct international air destinations. Then in October, London was named the world’s most powerful city – the fifth consecutive year it had topped the Global [...]
Unite wants Nissan-style assurances for Vauxhall plants in the UK after raising job concerns over Peugeot and GM deal February 15, 2017 Unite union is seeking assurances for UK car plants in line with Nissan's, after PSA and General Motors confirmed they were in talks over a possible sale of GM's European business. The news has led to concerns over job losses in both Germany and the UK. The German economy minister Brigitte Zypries said unions should have [...]
Another Southern rail strike is going ahead: RMT announces 24-hour walkout next week February 15, 2017 The RMT union has announced a fresh 24-hour strike on Southern rail will take place on Wednesday 22 February in the long-running staffing dispute. Conductors will strike for 24 hours between 00:01 and 23:59, after fresh talks broke down yesterday. Read more: Days lost to strike action soared 89 per cent last year Mick Cash, RMT [...]
2016 was a record year for used car sales after 8.2m vehicles changed hands February 15, 2017 Britain's used car market hit record highs last year with 8.2m vehicles sold. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), that marked an uplift of 7.3 per cent. Some 1.8m used cars changed hands in the fourth quarter, with a 5.5 per cent rise in October. Demand for smaller cars showed no [...]
Qantas passengers will soon get to use Netflix and Spotify inflight February 15, 2017 Flying is about to get a whole lot more fun. At least for anyone midway through binge-watching a TV series they can't bear to be apart from. Airline passengers will soon be able to watch hours of TV shows and films for free, listen to 30m odd songs – oh, and watch live sport too. Well, [...]
Amazon’s delivery drones could one day be dropping packages by parachute February 15, 2017 Amazon has filed another very interesting patent. At the end of last year, it was revealed Amazon had filed a patent for a flying airship warehouse designed to speed up drone deliveries. As you do. And now the US Patent and Trademark Office has granted the e-commerce giant a patent for a new way to deliver [...]
London mayor Sadiq Khan announces new electric-only bus routes to curb toxic transport emissions in the capital February 15, 2017 Sadiq Khan has bolstered the number of electric bus routes in the capital, amid plans to crack down on London's air pollution problem. The London mayor said next spring, 36 buses on routes C1 and 70, which run between White City and Victoria and between South Kensington and Acton respectively, will become electric only. That will [...]
The number of days lost to industrial action soared by 89 per cent to 322,000 last year February 15, 2017 There were 322,000 working days lost to strike action in 2016, an increase of 89 per cent on the year before. According to official figures for the year ending December 2016 there were 322,000 days lost from 99 stoppages and 154,000 people took strike action. That compares to 170,000 days lost due to labour disputes in [...]