Brits stick together as British Airways says it will start selling Marks and Spencer food on board September 30, 2016 There was good news and bad news for British Airways (BA) passengers today after the airline announced that it will serving up Marks and Spencer food on its short-haul flights from next year, but customers are going to have to pay for it. Following the lead of low-cost airlines, complimentary snacks will be a thing of the [...]
Lufthansa board approves plans to take over Brussels Airlines September 28, 2016 German airline Lufthansa said today that its supervisory board has approved plans to buy the remaining chunk of Brussels Airlines that it didn't already own. The carrier bought 45 per cent of Brussels Airlines owner SN Airholding in 2009 for €65m (£56m), with the option of buying the other 55 per cent from 2011 onwards. Lufthansa [...]
Shareholder group thinks Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary is overpaid September 13, 2016 An influential shareholder body has called on investors to reject Michael O’Leary’s €2.5m (£2m) pay packet, claiming the Ryanair boss might be overpaid. Ahead of the company's AGM tomorrow in Dublin, Pirc, an advisory group which represents investors with £1.5tn of assets under management, cited a string of concerns over the independence of O'Leary's fellow board members and recommended [...]
Delays on a new runway decision are costing the UK up to £1m an hour in emerging markets trade, according to a new study September 7, 2016 Delays in decision making on airport expansion are costing the UK as much as £1m ever hour in lost trade with emerging markets, according to a new analysis. Sir Howard Davies first recommended expansion at Heathrow last July, but since then the government has failed to approve the plan, and is currently set to return [...]
Easyjet’s share price edges up 1.5 per cent after announcing it flew 7.5m passengers during August September 6, 2016 Easyjet’s planes were fuller in August although experts say it is a trend that may stall in the future. Load factors nudged up from 94.4 per cent to 94.9 per cent in 2016 compared to the previous year. Meanwhile the total number of passengers flying with the Luton-based carrier beat expectations – growing by 6.4 per cent [...]
“Total political crap”: Tim Cook’s damning verdict on the EU Apple tax ruling September 1, 2016 Tim Cook has lashed out at the EU's decision to recover a decade's worth of back taxes from Apple, calling it "total political crap" and accusing Europe of anti-US sentiment. The chief executive said Ireland is being picked on and that both have played by the rules in an interview with the Irish Independent. "They just picked [...]
Ryanair urges government to approve three new runways at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted August 31, 2016 Ryanair has called on government to be "radical" and approve runways at three airports in the south east. The company said government should approve new runways at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted to resolve the ever-crippling issue of aviation capacity. Read more: Gatwick establishes Growth Board ahead of government's aviation decision The announcement comes as the country [...]
Explore the coastline of Cascais and channel your inner Dan Brown at a masonic Portuguese retreat August 5, 2016 Portugal’s national football team might have plodded to Euro victory in the most boring fashion imaginable, but the country’s Atlantic resorts of Estoril and Cascais more than compensate, providing the kind of spark and excitement their players were sadly lacking (not that we can talk). From the historic setting of Penha Longa Resort – Ritz-Carlton’s [...]
July traffic numbers set a world record for Ryanair August 3, 2016 Ryanair said it had broken the world record for the most passengers carried by an airline during one month. “July was a record month for Ryanair as our traffic grew by 12% to 11.3m customers and we became the first airline in the world to carry over 11m international passengers in one month, with a [...]
Bon voyage? Ryanair to “pivot” growth away from UK and towards EU following Brexit vote July 25, 2016 Ryanair has confirmed it is shifting its strategy away from the UK in a trading statement this morning, which also revealed a modest boost to profits and revenue. The figures The company announced profits before tax for the three months to June of €286.5m (£239m), up three per cent on last year's €277.8m. Meanwhile, revenue also grew [...]