Eurostar to hold on to its brand name in Thalys merger October 5, 2021 Eurostar will retain its brand name even after a planned merger with continental operator Thalys. The post-merger business will operate from Brussels but UK-bound services will be overseen by an operational centre in London. The news was first reported by the International Railway Journal. Speaking to the magazine, Belgian National Railways’ chief executive Sophie Dutordoir [...]
Tesla worker awarded £100m after facing ‘daily racist epithets’ at car giant’s factory October 5, 2021 A court has awarded a Tesla worker close to £100m after suffering racial abuse at the electric carmaker’s San Francisco Bay Area factory. The jury in San Francisco agreed that Owen Diaz was subjected to racial harassment and a hostile work environment. Diaz alleged in a lawsuit that he was harassed and faced “daily racist [...]
IATA estimates aviation’s pandemic losses at $201bn October 4, 2021 The International Air Transport Association has estimated that the aviation sector will return to profitability in 2023. As a result of the pandemic, aviation will lose around $201bn before returning profitable in 2023. As explained by International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) director general Willie Walsh, losses in 2021 are expected to be nearly $52bn – [...]
Lufthansa chief executive: After Covid-19 airfares will surge October 4, 2021 Lufthansa’s chief executive has said ticket prices will soar as a result of air travel recovering from the pandemic. Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr has warned that airfares will surge, with passengers paying the pandemic’s economic price. As reported by the Daily Telegraph, Spohr believes that before the pandemic plane tickets were too cheap and, [...]
Activist who attacked Octopus Energy director expelled from Tory party conference October 4, 2021 An activist who allegedly assaulted an energy director has been expelled from the party’s conference in Manchester, the Conservative Party said this afternoon. Party officials confirmed they are working with the police after Clementine Cowton, director of external affairs at Octopus Energy Group, reportedly told a fringe event she had been “violently assaulted” while attending [...]
Watch as British Army drivers hit the road to tackle the fuel crisis October 4, 2021 Army drivers have been deployed to drive tankers in the UK to help get deliveries to filling stations starved of fuel amid nationwide panic buying. Watch the full report.
Ryanair and Wizz Air passenger numbers highlight aviation’s journey back to normality October 4, 2021 After a turbulent 2020, Ryanair and Wizz Air appear set for smoother skies with passenger numbers on the up. Both firms reported increase in passenger traffic in September 2021 compared to last year. According to passenger traffic data published on the London Stock Exchange, Ryanair’s passenger numbers increased to 10.6m compared to 5.2m recorded in [...]
Global Britain: UK-based HGV driver ads snubbed by EU-applicants October 4, 2021 While the government’s temporary visas for overseas HGV drivers may loosen the choking impacts of the shortage on UK supply chains, there are few truckers coming in from the EU, according to new research. The HGV driver shortage, which triggered both a fuel crisis and pushed a third of mid-size firms to shrink their offering, [...]
Public opinion and hungry investors push more farmers to convert land as number of solar farms swells to 2,500 October 4, 2021 The number of solar farms in the UK increased 12 per cent last year, from 2,250 in 2019/20 to 2,510 last year, according to new data shared with City PM today. This growth is coming from farmers who are increasingly using their land to erect solar farms. Converting this land to be used as solar [...]
British Airways looks to U-turn decision to ditch Gatwick short-haul flights October 4, 2021 British Airways (BA) is reportedly looking to U-turn on its decision to ditch short-haul flights from London’s Gatwick airport. Bosses at trade union Balpa reopened talks last week and are planning on taking a new pay deal to pilots, the Telegraph reported. After a gruelling 18-months for the travel industry, the airline ditched short-haul flights [...]