Behind the scenes at the house of KRUG December 19, 2010 KRUG, the grand old Champagne house, has been feeling a little unloved of late. Revered across the world as a wine that’s emblematic and long-lasting, it is perhaps perceived as a Champagne to be bought, sold and stored, rather than drunk in celebration. This was not always so, and Krug wants to have fun again. [...]
The airline boss with a hit list of 12 bid targets in his desk drawer September 13, 2010 It is clear that British Airways (BA) chief executive Willie Walsh always likes to keep his foot hard on the pedal. The Dublin-born airline boss is in the middle of a bitter 18-month dispute with his cabin crew, and only a few weeks ago received US and European regulatory clearance to pursue a transatlantic tie-up [...]
BA boss eyes fresh round of merger deals September 5, 2010 BRITISH AIRWAYS chief executive Willie Walsh has drawn up a hit list of a dozen companies he wants to buy after he has sealed his merger with Iberia and American Airlines in a bid to become the biggest airline group in the world. Walsh said: “The mergers with Iberia and American were never meant to [...]
Airbus signs $11bn A380 deal June 8, 2010 AIRBUS celebrated yesterday after receiving a record breaking order from Emirates Airline for 32 A380 planes worth $11.5bn (£8bn). The deal, the largest of its kind yet, was signed in Berlin by the airline’s chief executive and chairman Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum and Airbus president and chief executive Tom Enders. The signing was witnessed [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 27, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES COMMODITIES SURGE AFTER WARNING ON HURRICANE SEASON Oil and natural gas prices surged on Thursday as the US government said this year’s hurricane season could rank among the most active to date, comparable to years that brought such devastating storms as 2005’s Katrina and Rita. The outlook raises the possibility of damage to [...]
Test flights to protest the European ban April 18, 2010 A RAFT of European commercial airliners launched test flights this weekend, despite flight bans, in a bid to protest against decisions to ground flights in the UK and most of Northern Europe as the Icelandic volcano continued to erupt. British Airways (BA), Air France, KLM and Lufthansa each flew a collection of test flights throughout [...]
Berlin is still emerging from the shadows of the past November 8, 2009 WHEN you walk across the joint expanse of Potsdamer Platz and Leipziger Platz in central Berlin, you’re surrounded by futuristic architecture, vast advertising hoardings, neon-lit brand names and thundering traffic. It makes it easy to forget you’re crossing what was once known here as the “Death Strip”. A cobbled line marking the old route of [...]
When weather is a matter of life and death June 10, 2009 TURBULENCEBy Giles FodenFABER & FABER, £16.99 GILES FODEN’S The Last King of Scotland was a masterful book and became a masterful film because of its compelling combination of historical fact, fiction and painstakingly realised detail in an unusual context. It is reason enough for Turbulence, his latest piece of historical fiction, to be read with [...]
Oscar-winner who loves London stage June 7, 2009 I ARRIVE 20 minutes early at Ronald Harwood’s Chelsea mansion block, and rather than knock, I sit on the steps outside. I don’t want to risk the ire of the man who won an Oscar for The Pianist and who has two West End plays about Nazi Germany on simultaneously – Taking Sides and Collaboration [...]
Benitez gets his man as £8m Riera arrives from Espanyol September 2, 2008 Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez finally ended his long search for a leftwinger last night when he completed the £8m signing of Albert Riera from Espanyol. The Spain midfielder, who spent a loan spell at Manchester City during the 2005-06 season, signed a four-year contract at Anfield after rejecting interest from other Premier League clubs. Riera, [...]