HS2: ‘Very unlikely’ to meet budget for first phase October 16, 2022 The total cost of HS2’s London-Birmingham section is set to exceed the government’s budget by several billions, according to a leaked report. A research presented to the HS2 board by Sir Jon Thompson, the project’s deputy chair, said it was “very unlikely” the £40.3bn target would be met. The document concluded that the government’s contingency [...]
Ryanair chief forecasts price increase after ‘surprisingly strong’ bookings October 13, 2022 Ryanair is predicting an increase in prices following “surprisingly strong” bookings, according to chief executive Michael O’Leary. O’Leary said that – despite recent forecasts of 3-4 per cent growth – air fares “will rise by a mid to high single digit figure for the full year” unless alarming reports on Covid and Ukraine come out. [...]
Trevelyan commits to deliver reforms post P&O scandal October 13, 2022 Transport secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan has committed to deliver reforms that will prevent scandals such as P&O from happening again. “I look forward to continuing to extend the work that my predecessor set running to build that relationship, to improve the workplace environment for our seafarers and to ensure that terrible decisions taken by P&O cannot [...]
BA owner IAG expects £1bn profit due to strong summer October 13, 2022 British Airways’ owner IAG expects its pre-exceptional operating profit for the third quarter to be around €1.2bn (£1bn) after better than expected trading. The airline consortium said strong passenger revenue drove profits while forward bookings remained at expected levels, showing no signs of slowing down. Shares went up as high as 10 per cent following [...]
Winds of change blow over TfL in management revamp October 13, 2022 Winds of change are blowing over TfL as the public body announced the appointment of two new members of its management team. Current Crossrail chief finance officer Rachel McLean will take over as managing CFO at the end of October while financial director Patrick Hoig will remain as statutory chief finance officer. TfL’s director of management [...]
Easyjet to post loss for third consecutive year despite strong summer October 13, 2022 Easyjet is expected to post a loss for the third consecutive year, despite increasing earnings over the busy summer quarter. The low-cost carrier said that, for the year ended 30 September, losses are expected to be in the £170m-£190m range as a result of travel disruption experienced over the last few months. In a trading [...]
Truss voices support for Heathrow’s third runway October 12, 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss has voiced her support for Heathrow’s third runway, saying she agreed with the comment made by transport secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan. “I absolutely agree with what the transport secretary said in her comments,” Truss said today during PMQs. Trevelyan reportedly told a fringe event during the Conservative Party conference last week she [...]
UK green aviation fuel targets could fail without Govt support October 12, 2022 The UK’s green aviation fuel targets could be out of reach without further government support, trade body Airlines UK has warned. Chief executive Tim Alderslade called on the government to introduce a pricing mechanism for the production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), as it is currently between two and four times more expensive. Produced from [...]
Port of Dover chief calls on Gov to share ‘rules of game’ for post-Brexit checks October 12, 2022 The Port of Dover has called on the government to share the “rules of the game” when it comes to post-Brexit checks. Chief executive Doug Bannister told a Commons’ transport select committee that the port has not received enough information about the EU’s entry-exit system, which will be implemented from May. Under the new system, [...]
Avanti pledges return to normal services in December October 12, 2022 Troubled train operator Avanti has pledged a return to near normal services in December after delays and short-notice cancellations plagued the network over the last two months. “We’re continuing to work with our sole focus on improving the timetable, marking more robust and sustainable for all our passengers,” Richard Scott, director of corporate affairs at [...]
