Continental found guilty at Concorde crash trial in France December 6, 2010 A FRENCH court yesterday found Continental Airlines and a mechanic at the airline guilty of involuntary manslaughter for their part in the 2000 Concorde crash that spelled the end of the supersonic airliner. In a ruling that could affect the way planes are maintained and inspected, the court said the US airline and a welder [...]
The head of the world’s largest law firm reveals his plans for expansion December 5, 2010 The new chairman of Baker & McKenzie has a tricky hand to play. Eduardo Leite, who began his three-year term at the beginning of last month, may lead over 10,000 staff (including 4,000 lawyers) spread over 40 countries in 68 offices. And the firm may have produced the biggest revenues in the industry this year [...]
BT retail chief joins the board at British Airways December 2, 2010 BT’S head of retail Gavin Patterson is to join the board of British Airways (BA). Patterson, who also has a place on the BT Group board, resigned as a director of Johnston Press last year. BA sales and marketing director Andrew Crawley, who was acquitted during the collapsed price fixing case in May, has been [...]
Broughton makes key hire at sports fund December 1, 2010 MARTIN Broughton, the former chairman of Liverpool Football Club, has made a key hire at his fledgling investment fund and advisory fund, Sports Investment Partners. Sports Investment said yesterday it is hiring Matthew Wheeler, who was chief executive of Alan Pascoe’s API Group in the 1990s. He then had a four-year stint as the worldwide [...]
Flybe listing to take off in December November 30, 2010 REGIONAL airline Flybe yesterday announced plans to list in London in December in a bid to raise £60m. The initial public offering (IPO) would value the budget carrier, Europe’s largest regional airline, at about £240m and marks another stride in its ambitious growth strategy. “We are delighted to bring Flybe to the market. The company [...]
BA and Iberia set to merge November 29, 2010 SHAREHOLDERS at British Airways (BA) and Spanish carrier Iberia rubber-stamped a £5m merger yesterday, allowing the pair to create a major player that will compete with rivals Lufthansa and Air France-KLM. More than 99 per cent of BA’s shareholders at a meeting in London yesterday backed the deal, meaning the new International Airlines Group is [...]
Cabin crew in threat to strike again as Unite ballots members November 29, 2010 THE UNITE union is getting ready to ballot 11,000 British Airways cabin crew on further strikes, it announced yesterday after the merger with Iberia was passed by shareholders. The industrial action is over staff travel concessions and disciplinary action linked to previous strikes. Unite joint general secretary Tony Woodley said yesterday BA’s “vicious war against [...]
Tie-up between BA and Iberia to face the vote November 28, 2010 INVESTORS in British Airways and Spain’s Iberia are due to vote today on a £5.6bn merger to create a new giant of the skies. Shareholders are due to vote in London and Madrid on whether to approve the tie-up to create a holding company known as International Airlines Group (IAG). It would mark another step [...]
Morocco is attracting the luxury investor November 25, 2010 IT’s hot, it’s exotic and beautiful. No wonder Morocco, long on the traveller’s radar, is rapidly becoming the place that the beautiful people are going to buy their second homes. Says Alistair Emery, CEO of developer Ajensa, which is nearing completion of the Baglioni resort near Marrakech: “In the last few years as people have [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 23, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES CAMERON WOOS NORDIC NATIONS David Cameron is to host a summit with leaders of Nordic and Baltic countries in January, an unusual move which Downing Street billed as an opportunity to exchange ideas on issues such as the green economy, social cohesion and gender equality. Cameron’s spokeswoman insisted the summit was not an [...]