WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 11, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES TOTAL CHIEF STILL KEEN ON UAE DESPITE SETBACKS Total, the French oil company, is looking to invest in the United Arab Emirates’ nuclear industry despite having been part of a consortium that lost the $20.4bn contract to build the country’s reactors. The loss to a Korean consortium, led by Korea Electric Power Corp [...]
BarCap hired to find buyer for Liverpool April 11, 2010 LIVERPOOL’S embattled owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have hired Barclays Capital to find a buyer for the club. The co-owners, who were involved in a bitter spat over the Anfield club, are ready to cash in on their ill-fated reign. Likely buyers include Rhone Capital, the private equity vehicle that had a £116m bid [...]
BA execs to stand trial on cartel charge April 11, 2010 THREE former executives and one current executive at British Airways (BA) are to face criminal court proceedings today after cartel charges were handed to them over fuel price fixing. Former executives Alan Burnett, Iain Burns and Martin George will stand trial, alongside current BA executive Andrew Crawley, at Southwark Crown Court, where they are expected [...]
New British Airways fund chief April 11, 2010 British Airways has named Paul Spencer as the chairman of its pension trustees. Spencer, the former head of National Savings & Investments, is also a trustee of the Rolls-Royce, BT and BAT pension schemes. He is set to play a crucial role in BA’s planned merger with Spanish airline Iberia. Iberia has said it would [...]
Discount airlines see double-digit boost to March passenger traffic statistics April 8, 2010 DISCOUNT airline easyJet has seen the number of passengers travelling during March climb by 13.5 per cent. Last month easyJet flew 3.9m passengers across its 500 routes compared with the same period last year when it flew 3.5m passengers. EasyJet said the numbers were helped by the seven-day strike by British Airways (BA) cabin crew [...]
Better load factor is key April 8, 2010 AT LAST, there is sun on the horizon for the beleaguered airline industry. Easyjet yesterday said its passenger numbers were up 13.5 per cent in March compared to last year, a similar result to Ryanair, which carried 13 per cent more passengers last month. Although both companies said they saw increased business thanks to the [...]
BA and Iberia sign merger agreement April 8, 2010 BRITISH Airways and Iberia have signed a merger agreement that will see the two carriers launch a new company called International Airlines. The merger is expected to be complete by November this year and has received approval from local aviation authorities but awaits both European Commission and shareholder approval. BA and Iberia will create a [...]
BA and Iberia agree merger April 8, 2010 BRITISH Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia have signed a deal to merge if shareholders and regulators give the green light. The merger, which was provisionally agreed in November last year, is expected to be completed by the end of the year. In a statement the two companies said the deal would be a boost for [...]
British Airways sees dip in passenger numbers after March cabin crew strike April 7, 2010 BRITISH Airways saw a double-digit drop in passenger numbers in March after the airline faced disruption from seven days of strikes by cabin crew. Passenger traffic dipped by 11.4 per cent last month, while passenger capacity dropped 13.7 per cent. BA said the walkout affected traffic numbers, which are measured in revenue per passenger kilometre [...]
BA loses up to £45m in strike April 7, 2010 BRITISH Airways has said that last month’s cabin crew strike cost the company up to £45m. The company said in its traffic statement for March, it said that the action hit passenger numbers as scores of flights were grounded. However, BA said it managed to operate 79 per cent of long-haul flights and 58 per [...]