Insurer Direct Line set for £44m coronavirus hit to travel claims May 6, 2020 Insurer Direct Line is expecting to take a £44m hit to its travel business from the coronavirus crisis, the company said today, with claims set to fall by 70 per cent. The firm also said it expected to incur £70m in costs from measures to protect its customers, such as providing all NHS workers with [...]
White House to shelve coronavirus task force as Trump targets reopening May 6, 2020 The White House will begin to shut down its coronavirus task force, president Donald Trump confirmed last night, as the country begins to reopen from stringent lockdown measures. Speaking during a visit to a mask factory in Arizona, the president said that responsibility for co-ordinating the US’ response would shift to federal agencies. He praised [...]
National Express set for equity raise to strengthen balance sheet May 6, 2020 National Express has announced the placing of up to 19.99 per cent of the coach operator’s share capital to further strengthen its financial position through the coronavirus crisis. The firm said that in its worst-case scenario, profit could fall up to 40 per cent in 2020. The company said that the move had the “unanimous [...]
Virgin Atlantic to cut 3,150 jobs and quit Gatwick base May 5, 2020 Virgin Atlantic will cut a third of its workforce and cease its operations at Gatwick airport in a bid to survive the coronavirus crisis, the embattled airline announced today. The carrier, which will cut 3,150 of 10,000 strong workforce, is the latest airline to announce major job cuts after Ryanair and British Airways. In a [...]
Travel industry calls on government to extend refund payment timetable May 5, 2020 The UK’s leading travel association has called on the government to extend the time period in which holiday firms must refund customers or risk “huge job losses”. Under current rules, travel firms are legally obliged to refund customers within 14 days, a timeline that ABTA chief Mark Tanzer described as “impossible” in the current circumstances. [...]
Trump hails climbing oil prices as lockdowns begin to lift around world May 5, 2020 Oil prices leapt upwards today on hopes that the easing of coronavirus lockdowns around the world would boost demand, prompting encouraging tweets from US president Donald Trump. After weeks of extreme volatility, both Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) posted their fifth consecutive day of gains. Worldwide standard Brent crude, which two weeks ago [...]
Qantas halts plans for non-stop flights to London and New York May 5, 2020 Australian airline Qantas has suspended plans to commence record-breaking non-stop flights to London and New York due to disruption caused by coronavirus. It was reported that the carrier has made the decision to delay the so-called “Project Sunrise”, which was due to launch in 2023, for an indefinite period. As a result, the airline has [...]
Ryanair flies just 40,000 people in April as demand evaporates May 5, 2020 Europe’s largest low-cost carrier Ryanair revealed that passenger numbers fell 99.6 per cent in April as the coronavirus crisis continued to cripple global aviation. Last month the airline operated 600 flights, a tiny fraction of the 75,500 it had budgeted, and flew just 40,000 people. By contrast, in April last year the airline flew 13.5m [...]
SMMT: UK coronavirus crisis wipes out April car sales May 5, 2020 New car sales have tanked 97 per cent amid the UK coronavirus crisis, according to new stats from an industry body today. That effectively means new UK car sales ground to a halt in April, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said. Just 4,321 cars were sold over the month – 70 per cent [...]
Volkswagen warns manufacturing costs set to rise as car demand collapses May 5, 2020 Volkswagen has warned that the car industry is likely to come under even more pressure as parts makers increase the prices of crucial components due to the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking to the Financial Times, Volkswagen’s board member for procurement Stefan Sommer said that some suppliers were raising prices to offset the fact that they are [...]
