No fly zone: As coronavirus fears grow, airlines must brace for the worst March 3, 2020 One of last month’s more outlandish news stories was the report that the coronavirus outbreak had caused an upsurge in private jet inquiries. More wealthy travellers than ever, it seems, are willing to pay thousands of pounds an hour for a plane unto themselves, in an attempt to dodge the risk of getting infected. The [...]
Bribery probe and military aircraft unit send Airbus to €1.36bn loss February 13, 2020 Global aerospace giant Airbus has swung to €1.36bn loss for 2019, compared to a profit of just over €3bn for the year before. The huge loss is down to a provision for a $4bn settlement of a bribery case as well as a €1.2bn charge against its military aircraft programme. The group has however met [...]
How e-scooters, self-driving cars, and flying taxis will shape the future of your commute February 10, 2020 An air of tranquility hangs about Stratford’s electric scooter riders. Their bodies are still, poised, as they glide by on this crisp February morning. I try to copy them and end up skidding along, struggling to figure out how to position my feet — but after a couple of wobbles I’m gliding too. As I [...]
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. [...]