Brent crude oil falls below $50 January 7, 2015 The price of Brent crude oil has dipped below $50-a-barrel mark for the first time in five and a half years, marking a symbolic moment for oil. The black stuff fell another two per cent this morning to $49.99 a barrel. Yesterday Brent crude dipped to $51.12, following a six per cent fall on Monday, [...]
Oil prices sink below $50 a barrel as petrol costs tumble January 5, 2015 Boost for motorists and airlines as petrol costs tumble… yet the speed of black gold’s collapse spooks global markets. The price of oil slid further yesterday, providing a boon to motorists and fuel-dependent industries, yet contributing to market turbulence throughout the world. American crude crashed below $50 a barrel during trading, while benchmark Brent tumbled under [...]
Rising customer numbers boost Ryanair shares January 5, 2015 BUDGET airline Ryanair saw its shares hit an all-time high yesterday as it announced it had increased customer numbers to more than six million in December, up 20 per cent compared with the same month in 2013. The firm’s load factor, a measure of how much of an airline’s passenger carrying capacity is used, also [...]
Ryanair’s charm offensive pays off as traffic soars 20 per cent in December January 5, 2015 It looks like Ryanair's new PR strategy – stop trying to extract money at any available opportunity, stop actually swearing at customers – has worked a treat. The airline's traffic grew to just over six million passengers in December, a 20 per cent increase from the same period last year. According to figures released this [...]
British Airways owner rejected by Aer Lingus December 18, 2014 Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus yesterday revealed that it had knocked back an offer from international rival IAG, owner of British Airways. Despite the knock-back, IAG is expected to come back with an improved offer, which could be supported by Ryanair. The budget carrier is a major shareholder in Aer Lingus, although it may soon [...]
Airline SAS feels pressure from budget carriers December 18, 2014 SCANDINAVIAN airline SAS has announced a set of disappointing financial results for the fourth financial quarter and the full year. These results included a loss of 575m kroner for the year, with 352m of that figure coming in the fourth quarter alone. As a result, the company will now implement its sixth savings plan in [...]
Aer Lingus rejects takeover bid by British Airways owner IAG December 18, 2014 Aer Lingus has rejected a takeover bid by International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), the latter said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange today. It confirmed an earlier report it had made a takeover bid for the company. IAG, the company behind British Airways and Spanish flag carrier Iberia, also said there was no certainty of [...]
What the drop in oil price means to the UK December 11, 2014 The price of Brent crude oil is at its lowest level in more than four years. It has dropped by around 40 per cent this year, and now sits at $64.44 per barrel – significantly below the $107.95 it reached in June. With Opec – the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries – predicting a surplus [...]
Stansted owner Manchester Airport Group calls for further rail investment in south east December 9, 2014 The airport group which owns Stansted has called on the government to increase investment in rail infrastructure in the south east. Neil Thompson, chief financial officer at Manchester Airport Group, made the comments yesterday as the company reported its results for the first half of the 2014 financial year. The firm posted an eight [...]
Ryanair says being nicer has lifted earnings December 4, 2014 IRISH budget airline Ryanair yesterday raised its full-year profit forecast, following a 22 per cent jump in passenger numbers to 6.35m people in the year to November. The airline said it now expected profits to be between €810m and €830m (£636m-£652m), partly due to better customer service. Just last month, Ryanair had raised its profit [...]