BA Iberia merger set for takeoff November 11, 2009 British Airways and Spanish airline Iberia could announce a long-awaited merger agreement as early as this week, Sky News reported last night. It said the two parties were gearing up for a deal to be announced by tomorrow. BA refused to comment, saying only that talks with the carrier, which started over a year ago [...]
Sales fall 10pc at Aer Lingus as jobs axed November 9, 2009 IRISH airline Aer Lingus reported a 10 per cent fall in revenues in a third quarter trading update that were described by analysts as “poor but not disastrous”. Aer Lingus posted a 9.7 per cent year-on-year drop in revenue despite increasing passenger numbers by seven per cent over the summer to nearly 3.1m. The Dublin-based [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 3, 2009 RYANAIRRBS said that there is a lack of visibility on Ryanair’s equity, as it reiterated its “buy” rating with a reduced target price of 350p. The broker highlighted the airline’s uncertain growth rate as it comes to terms with the maturing of its business, and said that getting Boeing to engage in serious aircraft negotiation [...]
Ryanair’s passenger figures soar as travellers ditchBA for budget rivals November 3, 2009 BUDGET airline Ryanair carried 6.16m passengers in October, 15 per cent more than a year ago, while the average flight was just as full, it said yesterday. Its load factor – an indication of how full its planes are – was unchanged from a year ago at 85 per cent. Carriers around the world have [...]
Ryanair issues threat to Boeing over planes November 2, 2009 RYANAIR, the European budget airline run by colourful Michael O’Leary, signalled a U-turn in its growth plans yesterday, saying it might stop expanding if it fails to negotiate a better deal with Boeing on new aircraft. The carrier, which has been following an aggressive growth-plan despite the slump, is talking to the US planemaker about [...]
HOW SERIOUS IS RYANAIR ABOUT SCALING BACK GROWTH PLANS? November 2, 2009 HENK POTTS BARCLAYS WEALTH“O’Leary is fantastic at using his results to communicate to passengers, as well as to business partners on how his company can benefit them. Yesterday’s numbers further demonstrate that no frills airlines are finding it easier than flag carriers to get through the downturn.” MANOJ LADWAR ETX CAPITAL“That was a very interesting [...]
THE TIPSTER TURBULENCE MAY BE OVER FOR RYANAIR November 1, 2009 WE are still in earnings season, which means that shares and indices are subject to plenty of daily moves. Irish airline Ryanair had a turbulent time in October with its share price tumbling from €3.50 to below €3.00 so investors will be looking for some good news when it releases second quarter numbers today. The [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPER SAY THIS MORNING November 1, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphODEY CASHES IN ON BARCLAYS SHARES OVER EU “UNCERTAINTY”Crispin Odey, the hedge fund manager who has made millions of pounds calling the fate of British banks, has sold part of his stake in Barclays. The boss of London-based Odey Asset Management, who built a 1.5 per cent stake in Barclays shortly after [...]
City Airport owner snaps up Gatwick October 21, 2009 THE UK’s second largest airport, Gatwick, is facing a massive shake-up after BAA yesterday sold it for £1.5bn to City Airport owner Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). The new owner said that it wants to challenge rival Heathrow by overhauling services and could add new destinations. Michael McGhee, the GIP partner leading the acquisition, said the [...]
RYANAIR’S CHIEF O’LEARY PROVES HIMSELF A SUCKER FOR PUBLICITY October 13, 2009 RYANAIR boss Michael O’Leary isn’t exactly renowned for taking criticism lying down, so the BBC’s Panorama programme will probably have seen yesterday’s tirade coming. After Monday evening’s programme on the airline, Ryanair unleashed a campaign to maximise publicity from the episode – offering 1.1m free flights, labelling the show a “hatchet job” and slamming 11 [...]