Airlines hit by £1.1bn losses in shutdown April 21, 2010 THE International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated the airline industry had been hit by $1.7bn (£1.1bn) in total losses due to the Icelandic volcano disruption. IATA director general and chief executive Giovanni Bisignani estimated that at worst, the six-day flight ban hit 29 per cent of global aviation and affected up to 1.2m passengers a [...]
GOLDMAN AND GORDON HAVE SEEN BETTER DAYS April 21, 2010 GORDON Brown’s savage attack on Goldman Sachs for being “morally bankrupt” must have come as a surprise to those who can recall a time when the Prime Minister’s attitude to the bank was rather different. BGC’s veteran market commentator David Buik yesterday reminisced about a fundraising gala dinner he attended years ago in aid of [...]
Relief as UK flight ban ends April 20, 2010 ALL UK airports re-opened last night after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) decided to remove restrictions on airspace. The first British Airways flight landed at Heathrow around 10pm, spelling an end to the six day ban on flying. The announcement came after experts reassessed the risk to planes from volcanic ash. The CAA said that [...]
UK fly ban criticised as an over-reaction April 20, 2010 LAST night’s decision by the authorities to re-open Britain’s airspace was yesterday criticised by the aviation industry and London Mayor Boris Johnson for being “too little, too late.” The six day suspension has left hundreds of thousands stranded and caused severe damage to the economy. British Airways chief executive, Willie Walsh, said he was pleased [...]
Grounded commercial flights create a boon for private jets April 20, 2010 A RAFT of private jet and helicopter companies have cashed in on the chaos generated by thousands of grounded commercial liners as they transported stranded business passengers to and from mainland Europe. Operators, including NetJets, Ocean Sky and Jet Aviation have seen the number of requests sky rocket as most of Europe continues to face [...]
Insurers lobby to avoid paying out to cover airline losses April 20, 2010 UNCERTAINTY over who will foot the losses generated by the flight restriction mounted yesterday as it remained unclear how insurance cover would be given to the airlines. Airlines impacted by the closure of airspace could have cover, according to Holman Fenwick Willan lawyer Paul Wordley, but only if they have business interruption triggers in their [...]
New cloud casts doubt on flights April 19, 2010 A NEW ash cloud erupting from the Icelandic volcano has endangered plans to reopen British airspace. Major carriers had planned to operate long haul departures and short haul flights scheduled to fly after 7pm in a bid to help stranded passengers. But last night hopes faded as a ferocious new blast of volcanic ash drifted [...]
Airlines feel heat of Icelandic volcano April 19, 2010 AIRLINES grounded by the eruption of an Icelandic volcano are set for further losses if airspace is closed again, with the airline industry yesterday reporting daily losses of more than £5m. “If the shutdown of the airspace in the UK and large parts of Europe [returns], it will almost certainly lead to some carriers, especially [...]
WEE WILLIE BRUSHES UP ON BA’S PR STRATEGY April 19, 2010 THAT pesky cloud of Icelandic volcanic ash may have caused havoc among passengers and crippling losses to airlines, but at least there has been a silver lining for one man. “Wee” Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways, has suffered something of a PR nightmare over the past year amid strikes and crisis-hit revenues, [...]
BA in ash cloud compensation bid April 19, 2010 BRITISH Airways has appealed for compensation from the European Union and the UK government over the chaos caused by the volcanic ash cloud which has grounded flights. The company estimates that the crisis is costing it about £15m to £20m a day. Chief executive Willie Walsh called on the government to adopt new policies that [...]