WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 15, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BOND STRATEGY LED TO BIG WIN AFTER LEHMAN The collapse of Lehman Brothers and central banks’ unorthodox monetary policies distorted markets to create some of the biggest pricing anomalies ever documented in bond trading, according to research from leading US academics. A paper from the US National Bureau of Economic Research claims to [...]
BA cuts ground staff deal September 13, 2010 British Airways ground staff at Heathrow airport have accepted a settlement in a long-running dispute over pay and staffing levels, the GMB and Unite unions said yesterday. The deal, which covers 2,850 staff, will see the reduction of 500 jobs by March 2011, more flexible working conditions and the introduction of a one-year pay freeze.
The airline boss with a hit list of 12 bid targets in his desk drawer September 13, 2010 It is clear that British Airways (BA) chief executive Willie Walsh always likes to keep his foot hard on the pedal. The Dublin-born airline boss is in the middle of a bitter 18-month dispute with his cabin crew, and only a few weeks ago received US and European regulatory clearance to pursue a transatlantic tie-up [...]
Virgin ends strike threat September 8, 2010 VIRGIN Atlantic averted the threat of the first strike in its 26-year history yesterday, after it reached an agreement with pilot’s union Balpa over the time off its members take. Under the deal Virgin pilots remain entitled to “at least 120 days off” a year, equivalent to an office worker’s weekends and bank holidays. Virgin’s [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 7, 2010 BRITISH AIRWAYS UBS expects that British Airways’ (BA’s) strong yield recovery will continue until the end of the year after the airline showed a strong yield delivery in the first quarter, up 13.5 per cent, and surpassing European rivals. UBS said that BA is trading well post its year-end results and continues to rate the [...]
Unite: BA strike ballot is inevitable September 6, 2010 UNITE, the union representing British Airways (BA) cabin crew, has warned that a further strike ballot is “inevitable” with the Christmas holidays the next likely target for industrial action. Yesterday up to 2,000 members of the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (BASSA), the BA crew branch of Unite, met at Kempton Park Racecourse to [...]
Budget airlines fly a higher number of August passengers September 6, 2010 A HIGHER number of travellers are turning to budget airlines easyJet and Ryanair according to August passenger figures published by the two carriers yesterday. The figures indicate a general move by air passengers towards low cost airlines, as each posted an increase in passenger numbers last month. EasyJet said yesterday that it carried 5.2m passengers [...]
British Airways plans to boost its London City Airport service September 6, 2010 British Airways is planning to boost its investment at London City Airport with the launch of new transatlantic services. The Flag-carrier introduced a 32-seat all-business service from the docklands airport to New York’s JFK just over a year ago. But yesterday chief executive Willie Walsh said: “This route has exceeded our expectations. We are now [...]
Betting on merger deals demands nimble trading September 6, 2010 WITH global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) on the rise and 2010 already being hailed as a blockbuster year, it might seem easy to benefit from sudden equity gains on the back of deals. But despite the impressive stock swings in response to M&A news, traders should be wary. Betting on deals that might not happen [...]
BA boss eyes fresh round of merger deals September 5, 2010 BRITISH AIRWAYS chief executive Willie Walsh has drawn up a hit list of a dozen companies he wants to buy after he has sealed his merger with Iberia and American Airlines in a bid to become the biggest airline group in the world. Walsh said: “The mergers with Iberia and American were never meant to [...]