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 [...]
Ryanair just revised up its 2015 profit forecast by €60m December 4, 2014 Ryanair’s share price soared more than eight per cent this morning as it revised its full-year profit forecast upwards by €60m (£47m). The budget airline said customer numbers increased in November, which it credited to its "Always Getting Better" campaign and it now expects more than 1m additional passenger numbers over the year. The firm [...]
Barry Geraghty in line for Haydock payday November 20, 2014 Bill Esdaile’s tips for the Betfair Chase and the rest of tomorrow’s racing at Haydock LAST year’s first three home in the Betfair Chase (3.50pm Haydock) are set to line up tomorrow in this season’s renewal and bookmakers are struggling to separate them. Cue Card, who took Haydock’s biggest jumping prize 12 months ago, heads [...]
CEO Carolyn McCall scoffs at easyJet being labelled as lazy November 18, 2014 A couple of weeks ago, somebody called easyJet lazy. This wasn’t an angry passenger or a disgruntled shareholder, but the chief executive of Hungarian budget carrier Wizz Air, Jozsef Varadi. “Lazy low-cost airlines” will be undercut by ultra-low-cost brands like Wizz and Ryanair in Europe, he told punters at the World Travel Market conference at [...]
EasyJet’s profits soar to new heights as passenger numbers rise November 18, 2014 Budget airline easyJet yesterday shrugged off concerns about an increasingly crowded low-cost airline market by announcing a 21.5 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to £581m. The no-frills carrier, which upgraded its profit forecast last month following strong sales, also announced it will increase its ordinary dividend per share by 35.5 per cent to 45.4p [...]
Blue skies ahead for EasyJet? Profits rise 21.5 per cent November 18, 2014 EasyJet reported a 21 per cent lift in pre-tax profit for the full year, slightly ahead of its own market guidance. Profit before tax came in at £581m for the 12 months ended 30 September. The airline added it predicts more growth for the first six months of 2015. The profits are the highest reported [...]