Grand National handicapper hits back at “anti-Irish” claims from Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary’s stable March 1, 2017 One of Britain’s top handicappers has hit back at claims that his assessment of Grand National entries was coloured by an anti-Irish bias after a row broke out ahead of next month’s race. Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown House Stud yesterday withdrew eight of its horses at the latest forfeit stage, including his big three [...]
Douvan and Co have Willie Mullins dreaming of more Festival success February 28, 2017 ALTHOUGH the sun was shining at Willie Mullins’ Closutton base on Monday, as he briefed the media ahead of the Cheltenham Festival, some dark clouds have been hovering over the County Carlow stable this season. The Irish champion trainer has saddled an astonishing 15 winners at the last two festivals, but the run-up to this [...]
Norwegian launches a raft of new transtlantic flights from Belfast, Edinburgh and Dublin to the US February 23, 2017 Low-cost airline Norwegian has announced a series of new transatlantic flights from five cities in the UK and Ireland to the US, offering tickets from £69. In total, Norwegian is launching 10 new routes with 38 new transatlantic flights this summer from Edinburgh, Belfast, Cork, Shannon and Dublin. The flights will start on 15 June [...]
Ryanair launches biggest London winter schedule but underlines commitment to pivot growth away as Brexit looms February 23, 2017 Ryanair has launched its biggest ever schedule out of London to date, with three new routes from London Stansted. But the airline has also reiterated its commitment to pivoting growth away from Britain in the wake of the Brexit vote. The Irish carrier’s 2017 schedule will have three new routes from London Stansted to Aalborg [...]
The only direct flight between London Heathrow and Barbados will take off this year February 22, 2017 Virgin Atlantic has announced it will launch the only direct flight between London Heathrow and Barbados later this year. The twice weekly service, operating on Tuesdays and Saturdays, will start from 12 December 2017 to tempt those eyeing up Christmas in the Caribbean. Flights go on sale from this Saturday 25 February. The airline's codeshare with [...]
Road To Cheltenham: Empire can strike back in the Ryanair Chase February 17, 2017 OVER the coming weeks I will be taking a look at the ante-post markets for this year’s Cheltenham Festival and putting together a portfolio of bets. The first horse I’d like to recommend is EMPIRE OF DIRT at 9/1 for the Ryanair Chase. An impressive winner of last season’s Festival Plate, the ten-year-old routed his [...]
Horse racing betting tips: Taquin looks value to upset Cue Card in Ascot Chase February 17, 2017 HATS off to the connections of Cue Card who this week scratched the lovable 11-year-old from next month’s Ryanair Chase, signifying their intentions to once again go for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The seven-time Grade One winner completes his preparations for this year’s Festival by running in Saturday's Ascot Chase (3.35pm), for which he is [...]
Russia’s Aeroflot trumps American heavyweights as the world’s most powerful airline brand February 14, 2017 Forget Emirates, American Airlines and British Airways. When it comes to the world's most powerful airline brand, another name has taken the crown. According to Brand Finance, which recently announced its annual Global 500 list featuring Lego, Google and co., Russian carrier Aeroflot is the world's most powerful airline brand. It carries an AAA brand rating [...]
Emirates is riding out turbulence in the airline sector and its brand is even jumping ahead of British Airways February 8, 2017 Ryanair's recent profit drop underlines how tough the airline sector is currently. It’s a good time to have a closer look at one airline whose consumer perception is standing up well in a highly competitive industry – Emirates. Our recent YouGov BrandIndex brand rankings point towards the success the high-end airline has enjoyed over the [...]
Ryanair profits hit turbulence but the airline maintains full-year guidance February 6, 2017 Ryanair profits hit a patch of turbulence in 2016 as the devaluation of sterling following the EU referendum saw Europe’s largest airline’s wings clipped. The figures Profits fell by eight per cent to €95m (£81m) despite traffic growing by 16 per cent to reach 29m customers. Revenue grew one per cent year-on-year to €1.35bn (£1.16bn) [...]