Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary calls Flybe a ‘loss-making turkey’ in stinging rebuke to chancellor Sajid Javid January 28, 2020 Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has issued another sharp rebuke to chancellor Sajid Javid in the wake of the government’s rescue of Flybe, this time saying the UK’s business strategy is “doomed to fail”. In a letter bound to further escalate the row between the two, O’Leary called the struggling regional airline a “loss-making turkey”. He [...]
Near-miss: Iran plane skids onto major road after pilot misses runway January 27, 2020 Iran narrowly avoided its second major aviation tragedy in less than a month this morning, after a passenger jet ended up belly-down in the middle of a major highway after a botched landing. Nearly all of the 136 passengers on board escaped unscathed – with two on board suffering leg injuries. The incident happened in [...]
Flybe: Ministers draft in restructuring advisers on rescue loan talks amid ‘state aid’ row January 27, 2020 Ministers have brought in advisers to help negotiate a government loan to struggling regional airline Flybe, despite insisting the rescue deal will not constitute state aid. Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) has been tasked with advising the Department for Transport (DfT) in assessing the basis for a commercial loan, according to Sky News. The company, a [...]
Flybe looks for another tax delay, weeks after government saves airline January 26, 2020 Flybe is said to have implored airports to give it more time to find millions of pounds it owes them in unpaid landing fees. Europe’s biggest regional airline held crisis talks with airports including Birmingham, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton, according to reports. It is said to be in a race against time to plug a [...]
Record number of flights for private jet airport Farnborough January 21, 2020 Farnborough Airport enjoyed a record number of air traffic movements last year, beating its previous record set in 2018. The airport – one of Britain’s busiest for private jets – saw a year-on-year increase in air traffic movements of 5.3 per cent. Air traffic movements to and from US airports grew by one-sixth, while traffic [...]
Flybe’s government rescue deal is much smaller than you think January 17, 2020 Regional airline Flybe has hit back at claims by its competitors that it has received favourable treatment from the state, after it struck a rescue deal with the government earlier this week. The struggling carrier sought to correct reports that the government had deferred a tax bill of more than £100m to keep it aloft. [...]
Government faces accusations of lying over Flybe rescue package January 17, 2020 The recriminations surrounding the government’s rescue package for Flybe grew yet again this morning, as Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary accused the state of a cover-up of the true terms of the deal. O’Leary has already written to chancellor Sajid Javid threatening legal action over what he calls illegal state aid to one of his competitors. [...]
British Airways flights ‘more carbon intensive’ than competitors’ January 17, 2020 Flying with British Airways can increase CO2 emissions by as much as 45 per cent per passenger compared to rival airlines, according to an investigation. The snapshot analysis found that one passenger flying from Heathrow to Miami with British Airways would be responsible for 1.13 tonnes of carbon. The same journey with Virgin Atlantic is [...]
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary threatens to sue government over ‘billionaire-owned’ Flybe rescue January 16, 2020 Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has threatened to sue the government over its bailout of “billionaire-owned” regional airline Flybe. O’Leary wrote to chancellor Sajid Javid today demanding that the government extend an air passenger duty “holiday” handed to the struggling carrier to all other airlines. If it does not do this, he said, it would be [...]
Q&A: Why would cutting air passenger duty help Flybe – and how is it damaging? January 14, 2020 In a bid to save regional airline Flybe, chancellor Sajid Javid is meeting officials from the business and transport departments today. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already shown he is against conventional bailouts for struggling companies – as he showed when he decided against keep Thomas Cook afloat in September. But one option still on [...]