Going to party like it’s 1919: Time to celebrate the centenary of some of the UK’s most important companies August 21, 2019 This coming Sunday marks the centenary of an important anniversary. On 25 August 1919, the world’s first daily international scheduled flight took place. There was only one passenger on board the flight between London and Paris, along with cargo which included newspapers, Devonshire cream, jam, and grouse. The carrier was Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, [...]
Abellio boss ‘confident’ review head will not scrap franchise model August 19, 2019 The boss of Abellio has said he is “confident” the rail franchise model will not be scrapped just a day after his firm took over one of the leading contracts in the UK. Dominic Booth, the managing director of Abellio, which officially took over the East Midlands franchise from Stagecoach today, said he thought the [...]
Union urges Ryanair to attend talks to avert summer strikes August 15, 2019 A trade union has urged Ryanair to attend talks to resolve the current dispute with its pilots over pay and working conditions. The British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa), which has over 10,000 members, has called on the budget airline to attend talks with the Acas conciliation service after pilots voted for strike action for Thursday [...]
Grant Shapps questions whether Heathrow third runway plan ‘stacks up’ August 14, 2019 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has cast doubt over the Heathrow third runway after he questioned whether the £14bn plan “stacks up”. Shapps, who replaced Chris Grayling when Boris Johnson became Prime Minister last month, said that while parliament had voted in favour of the third runway, there were “questions about whether the whole plan stacks [...]
First Group wins bid to replace Virgin on West Coast mainline August 14, 2019 The government announced today that First Trenitalia had been appointed to run the West Coast mainline from December 2019 to 2031. First Group and Italian firm Trenitalia will replace Virgin on the line that runs from London Euston to Glasgow via Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. The First-Trenitalia consortium saw off a rival bid from a [...]
Rolls-Royce: Engine issues still in focus after ‘storm of steel and iron’ falls from plane August 14, 2019 On a sunny, 30C-degree afternoon in Fiumicino, near Rome, residents of the airport town thought they were experiencing a sudden hail storm. But when witness Paola Di Lazzaro looked outside, she saw “a storm of steel and iron,” she told Italian newspaper Il Messaggero. Hundreds of shards of incandescent metal were falling down to earth [...]
Protesters bring Hong Kong airport to its knees for second day in a row as outbound flights cancelled again August 13, 2019 Hong Kong’s international airport has yet again been plunged into chaos after anti-government protesters forced authorities to cancel outbound flights for the second day in a row. Hours after one of the world’s busiest travel hubs returned to full operation, demonstrators have blockaded security gates again today, forcing some would-be passengers to fight their way [...]
Pension deficits fall among FTSE 350 firms but majority remain in the red August 12, 2019 Defined benefit pension deficits among FTSE 350 companies have dropped by nearly one-third in the last year, but still more than half of firms are operating on a deficit, according to research. The collective pension scheme deficit for the top 350 listed companies in Britain fell 29 per cent to £39bn last year, from £55bn [...]
Hong Kong airport cancels flights for rest of Monday amid anti-government protests August 12, 2019 Hong Kong airport authorities have cancelled all remaining flights for Monday, after anti-government protesters swamped its main terminal building for a fourth day. The cancellations mark the biggest economic disruption caused by the protests in the city since they began in early June. Read more: Cathay Pacific shares tumble after airline suspends Hong Kong protester [...]
Southeastern among franchises placed on public takeover watch list August 11, 2019 The Southeastern franchise is one of six that could go the way of LNER and be taken over by the government as sources warned there was little time for a new operator to be appointed by April next year. The bidding competition for the Southeastern franchise, which runs services between London, Kent and parts of [...]