BA Iberia merger set for takeoff November 11, 2009 British Airways and Spanish airline Iberia could announce a long-awaited merger agreement as early as this week, Sky News reported last night. It said the two parties were gearing up for a deal to be announced by tomorrow. BA refused to comment, saying only that talks with the carrier, which started over a year ago [...]
Bmi in talks to sell off its Heathrow slots to cut debts November 9, 2009 Loss-making carrier Bmi is in advanced negotiations to sell its prized Heathrow take-off and landing slots to plug debts of £190m. A spokesman for the airline said: “Negotiations are significantly advanced with several airline groups.” Bmi is the second largest holder of slots at Europe’s busiest airport, behind British Airways, with 11.5 per cent of [...]
British Airways staff to vote on Christmas strike action November 8, 2009 Passengers flying on British Airways over Christmas are bracing themselves for mayhem after 2,500 cabin crew backed union leaders’ decision to call a strike vote at a mass meeting. The ballot – in protest over the company’s imposed job cuts and two-year pay freeze – will start next week and close on 14 December. Unite [...]
Berlin is still emerging from the shadows of the past November 8, 2009 WHEN you walk across the joint expanse of Potsdamer Platz and Leipziger Platz in central Berlin, you’re surrounded by futuristic architecture, vast advertising hoardings, neon-lit brand names and thundering traffic. It makes it easy to forget you’re crossing what was once known here as the “Death Strip”. A cobbled line marking the old route of [...]
Strike threat still on at BA as court date pushed to next year November 5, 2009 BRITISH AIRWAYS’ (BA) staff will still be balloted on strike action over the Christmas period, despite the union’s legal challenge to new contracts being delayed. The Unite union had requested a High Court injunction to block new working patterns, which BA is enforcing as it seeks desperately to cut costs at the airline, but the [...]
ITV search nears an end November 4, 2009 ITV HAS narrowed its search for a new chairman to three candidates, giving hope that the calamitous hunt to replace Michael Grade could be nearing an end. A source close to the commercial broadcaster said yesterday that three candidates remain in the race, though they were unable to confirm the identities of the individuals. Betting [...]
How brand perceptions differ across the pond November 3, 2009 HOW different are British and American perceptions of the same brands? We took a quick look at the BrandIndex UK and US scores of three pairs of brands. Not surprisingly, American Airlines did better in America (average for the last year, plus 14) than in the UK (plus 6), and British Airways did better in [...]
BA workers to vote on Xmas strike action November 2, 2009 BRITISH AIRWAYS (BA), the ailing flag-carrier, was dealt another blow yesterday after the Unite union said results of a ballot on strike action would be announced mid-December. The decision to kick off the vote next week came after thousands of cabin crew met at Sandown racecourse yesterday to thrash out a response to BA’s cost-cutting [...]
BA crew talk about strikes November 1, 2009 THOUSANDS of British Airways’ (BA) cabin crew are meeting at racecourse Sandown park this morning to discuss a winter walkout at the airline. The meeting comes ahead of BA’s financial results for the summer season, which analysts are expecting to be catastrophic, as the downturn pummels airlines. The ailing carrier, led by chief executive Willie [...]
UK plc doing better than in past slumps November 1, 2009 THERE are many reasons why the stock market has bounced back, despite the severity of the recession. The fact that corporate earnings didn’t collapse as much as originally feared is one such explanation, as highlighted this weekend by Lombard Street Research. The operating profits of UK companies have fallen 8.4 per cent from their peak, [...]