Aer Lingus says no to Ryanair’s takeover bid June 20, 2012 SHARES in Aer Lingus soared 15.4 per cent yesterday after Ryanair’s latest takeover bid, though the budget carrier said after the markets closed that the offer undervalues the firm. Aer Lingus, which has been subject to three takeover offers from Ryanair since listing in 2006, urged its shareholders to take no action for now after [...]
Ryanair embarks on a third bid to take over its rival Aer Lingus June 19, 2012 BUDGET airline Ryanair has made a third bid to take over Aer Lingus, claiming its €694m (£560.6m) cash offer is the best chance for its rival to remain in Irish hands. The offer of €1.30 per share represents a 46.7 per cent premium over Aer Lingus’s six month average. Ryanair believes there is a better [...]
Airline traffic growth is knocked off course by Eurozone worries June 7, 2012 IAG, the parent firm of British Airways and Iberia, has been hit by Spain’s economic woes in the last month, undermining the strength in its long-haul London routes. IAG said yesterday that its traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometres, rose 6.6 per cent last month versus May 2011, while passenger load factor – a measure [...]
No delays at Stansted as strikes begin May 23, 2012 STANSTED Airport operated as normal yesterday in spite of industrial action by baggage handlers. Members of the Unite and GMB unions working for contractor Swissport staged the first of three planned walkouts yesterday as part of a dispute over work rotas. Unite claims that Swissport’s measures would mean ramp staff work 14 extra days a [...]
Ryanair says fuel prices will drive down profits May 21, 2012 BUDGET airline Ryanair yesterday announced record profits of €503m (£406m) for the year to March 2012, an increase of a quarter on a like-for-like basis. But the Dublin-based firm said that this would be the last year of expectation-beating profit rises and warned that returns could drop by as much as 20 per cent during the next [...]
Ryanair warns that profit to be dented by Eurozone May 21, 2012 Ryanair, Europe’s biggest budget airline, warned surging fuel costs and a worsening economic outlook meant profit would slip by up to 20 per cent in the coming year, the first fall in four years. The Dublin-based airline, which posted a record annual profit and has posted profit growth of at least 25 per cent every [...]
LONDON WEEK AHEAD May 20, 2012 GIVEN property developer British Land’s significant presence in the City, its full-year results will be closely watched this morning for signs of how the Eurozone crisis is hitting the company’s retail lettings. Budget airline Ryanair will also release its full-year results, as will outsourcing group Mitie. The spotlight will turn to the UK high street [...]
BAA offloads Edinburgh for shock £800m April 23, 2012 THE dismantling of BAA’s British interests moved forward yesterday when it agreed to sell Edinburgh airport to City airport owner Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for a surprise £807m. GIP, an investment fund founded by Credit Suisse and General Electric, beat a consortium led by JP Morgan Asset Management’s infrastructure fund. The price dwarfs the £500m [...]
Ryanair blames airport fees for Edinburgh cuts April 12, 2012 RYANAIR yesterday cut 60 weekly flights from Edinburgh Airport in a bid to force operator BAA to lower its fees. The low-cost carrier warned that its move to axe eight routes from its winter schedule could cost up to 500 jobs at the airport. Ryanair blamed BAA’s “uncompetitive” fees, and said its annual passenger traffic [...]
Oscar Whisky primed to land another Aintree Hurdle April 12, 2012 IT isn’t easy to pinpoint value on this afternoon’s Aintree card, but I don’t think the bookmakers have got it right in the John Smith’s Melling Chase (3.05pm). I’m a big fan of Finian’s Rainbow, but he has always struck me as a genuine two-miler and he has been beaten both times he has been [...]