Revealed: Why the government bailed out Flybe, but not Thomas Cook January 15, 2020 At first glance, some might find it hard to understand why the government decided to save Flybe – a small, regional airline – but not holiday giant Thomas Cook. After all, when the latter went bust in September more than 150,000 Brits were left stranded abroad, prompting a mammoth repatriation effort by the Civil Aviation [...]
Aviva Investors buys Docklands hotel site for £106m January 15, 2020 Aviva Investors’ Lime Property Fund has bought a £106m hotel development site near Canary Wharf. The asset management arm of Aviva has acquired the freehold interest in the site next to Westferry DLR station, where developer Rockwell will build a 30-storey Premier Inn Hotel. Read more: London luxury hotel market booms Whitbread, the owner of [...]
Picardilly Circus: TfL renames Tube station to celebrate Star Trek launch January 15, 2020 When Star Trek fans talk about exploring strange new worlds, they probably don’t have Piccadilly Circus Tube station in mind. However, Trekkies can now enjoy a taste of the extraterrestrial thanks to a publicity stunt launched by Transport for London (TfL). Read more: Experts unsure about the effect of air pollution on the Tube For [...]
British Airways owner files complaint over Flybe bailout January 15, 2020 The bailout of regional airline Flybe from near-collapse was today the subject of an official complaint to the European Commission by the owner of British Airways, International Airlines Group. Flybe was kept aloft on Tuesday after the government provided support, thought to involve the deferral of a tax bill worth more than £100m. But IAG said [...]
Northern Line misery as severe Tube delays and Bank branch issues hit commuters January 15, 2020 Northern Line commuters face a miserable journey to work today after a faulty train left the line running with severe Tube delays southbound and a limited Bank branch service. Southbound passengers changed at Camden Town this morning for Bank services before Transport for London (TfL) told them no Bank trains were running after the earlier [...]
Bakerloo line extension may be funded by landowner tax hike January 13, 2020 Transport for London (TfL) is considering funding the £3.1bn Bakerloo line extension with a tax on landowners. The proposed works would extend the line from Elephant and Castle to Lewisham via stations on Old Kent Road and New Cross Gate. Read more: Bakerloo line extension to Lewisham now open to public ocmment However, the project [...]
Troubled airline Flybe insists flights continue as normal amid survival funding talks January 13, 2020 Flybe’s chief executive today pleaded with employees not to give away details of its financial situation, as the struggling airline remained tight-lipped on reports that it is hurtling towards collapse today. Europe’s biggest regional carrier was rocked by suggestions that it is in a fresh battle for survival on Sunday night, less than a year [...]
With its foray into facial recognition, Uber is normalising mass surveillance January 13, 2020 The news late last year that Uber plans to introduce facial recognition technology seems to have mostly escaped the notice of the public, buried as the story was beneath five or six paragraphs in most of the reports on the loss of the firm’s London licence. Or perhaps, as one depressing Wall Street Journal headline [...]
Sir Jim Ratcliffe hit with legal claims over North Sea pipeline January 12, 2020 Britain’s third richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe is facing claims that he is looking to raise costs for a rival to use the main North Sea oil pipeline. American oil firm Apache has said that Ineos, which Ratcliffe owns, wants to double the price of using the Forties pipeline which it bought from BP in [...]
Crossrail boss: Elizabeth Line could open in central London by summer 2021 January 10, 2020 Crossrail’s London stretch could open in “summer 2021” if a more optimistic prediction from the company proves to be accurate. Crossrail Ltd is working to launch the Elizabeth Line “as soon as practically possible” in 2021, it said today as it confirmed it plans to open the central section between Paddington and Abbey Wood in [...]