Strikes over air traffic changes cause delays at French airports January 30, 2014 HUNDREDS of flights in France were cancelled yesterday as air traffic control staff across Europe walked out over plans to unite the continent’s air space. The French civil aviation authority asked airlines to axe a fifth of flights into Paris airports yesterday, while passengers in Italy and Portugal also faced disruption. UK services, however, were [...]
Brand Index: Ryanair’s charm offensive starting to win round flyers January 21, 2014 THIS year, Ryanair is changing. At least that’s what the budget airline’s boss, Michael O’Leary, claims in a new TV advert, which is part of multi-pronged marketing effort to convince consumers that it is turning over a new leaf. To get out the message that it is now a kinder, gentler company, it has appointed [...]
Ryanair considers issuing bonds to fund the renewal of its fleet January 20, 2014 IRISH airline Ryanair is considering tapping bond markets directly for the first time, it emerged yesterday. Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers has issued bonds backed by ExIm bank previously, but is in the process of seeking a rating to gain direct access to the debt markets. “We are putting ourselves in a position to allow [...]
Three things you didn’t know about… January 19, 2014 Chief executive of Oppenheimer Europe Max Lami 1 The banking boss spent 18 years learning Judo and has a black belt. He feels his time spent training in Japan and other parts of Asia has left him with a Buddhist-like, open minded approach to life. 2 He flies Ryanair. He described his ideal weekend as [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 15 January 2014 January 14, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Cameron shelves migration report David Cameron shelved a government report on EU migration, after Theresa May, home secretary, failed to provide evidence to support her case for imposing tighter curbs on immigrants. May, whose department was responsible for drafting the report, said last month there was “abuse of free movement” and that some [...]
Stansted is back in growth for first time since the recession January 14, 2014 STANSTED Airport has returned to growth last year for the first time since the recession, with annual traffic up 2.2 per cent to 17.8m passengers. The airport said yesterday it took 1.3m passengers in December, up 7.7 per cent on the previous year and the fourth consecutive month of rising traffic. Manchester Airports Group bought [...]
Regulator imposes surprise Heathrow price cap January 10, 2014 The operator of Heathrow airport is set to clash with regulators after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said user charges for airlines will be capped at 1.5 per cent below RPI inflation. Dame Deidre Hutton, CAA chairwoman, said the price cap was "good news for air passengers. They will see prices fall, whilst still being [...]
#MOL! Michael O’Leary takes to Twitter again January 9, 2014 THE ARTIST known as #MOL hit Twitter once more yesterday as Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary continued his charm offensive, answering customer questions and, er, wearing a red nose. The airline boss greeted his fans with his usual stinted text speak tweeting: “MOL here. H nu yr. Luv u all x x x Hope u as [...]
Rise in traffic gives Christmas cheer to EasyJet January 7, 2014 EASYJET carried 3.6 per cent more passengers than it did a year ago in 2013, helping narrow the gap between the budget carrier and its larger rival Ryanair. The orange-liveried airline booked in 61.3m customers in 2013, it said yesterday. Traffic in December was up 3.5 per cent at 4.5m, giving FTSE 100-listed EasyJet a [...]
Fact or Fiction 2013 December 19, 2013 Six of these stories happened in 2013, six didn’t – can you spot the real ones? 1 Ex-Goldman Sachs-er “Fabulous” Fabrice Tourre pulled out a love letter as part of his defence during his trial in New York. 2 The Lloyd’s of London building was sold to a Malaysian firm for £300m. 3 Tesco was [...]