Easyjet CEO says founder’s calls for his sacking are ‘a distraction’ April 16, 2020 Easyjet’s chief executive has said that calls for his removal from the airline’s founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou are “a distraction” and “quite frankly unhelpful”. Speaking to City PM, Johan Lundgren said that his focus was “completely on managing this business through the worst crisis the aviation industry has ever seen. Lundgren’s comments came after Haji-Ioannou, [...]
Easyjet raises £1.9bn but faces £380m coronavirus loss April 16, 2020 Budget airline Easyjet said today that it had has raised £1.8bn-£1.9bn in extra cash to help it survive the shutdown caused by the coronavirus epidemic. But it could face first-half losses of up to £380m due to travel bans associated with the coronavirus lockdown, it warned. The airline said today that it had signed two [...]
Costain secures £3.3bn HS2 contract that could create 6,000 jobs April 15, 2020 Engineering firm Costain has won a £3.3bn contract to design and build the tunnels connecting the HS2 railway to London Euston station. This initial phase of the High-Speed Two (HS2) railway project, which controversially got the go-ahead from government in February, will create 6,000 jobs, Costain said. Costain’s share price surged 23 per cent to [...]
Renault quits China partnership to focus on Nissan alliance April 14, 2020 French car giant Renault has scrapped its joint venture with Chinese firm Dongfeng Motor Group due to weak sales at the loss-making partnership. A general slowdown of sales in the world’s biggest auto market will be compounded by this year’s coronavirus pandemic, which has led to a widespread shuttering of factories and showrooms across the [...]
Coronavirus set to cost the world’s airlines up to $314bn April 14, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic will cost global airlines up to $314bn (£249.6bn) in revenues, industry body the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said. The figure reflects a 55 per cent fall in passenger revenues year-on-year, with air traffic expected to decline by 48 per cent. In March IATA had estimated a hit of $252bn, which [...]
Easyjet founder refers airline to watchdog over Airbus deal April 14, 2020 Easyjet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has referred the airline to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for not showing “the highest standards of disclosure and transparency” in its decision to defer the order of 24 new aircraft from Airbus. Haji-Ioannou has been locked in a spat with the budget carrier’s executives over a deal for 107 [...]
EDF withdraws financial guidance for 2020 and 2021 as coronavirus hits power demand April 14, 2020 French energy company EDF said today it was withdrawing its financial targets for 2020 and 2021 as a result of the coronavirus crisis. EDF said it was pulling all financial targets, including the lower end of the earnings Ebitda range of €17.5bn (£15.2bn) in 2020. “The economic turmoil that follows from the current sanitary crisis [...]
Heathrow Airport forecasts 90 per cent passenger number plunge in April April 14, 2020 Heathrow Airport, traditionally the busiest in Europe, forecast that passenger demand would plunge by over 90 per cent in April, as coronavirus restrictions stop most people from travelling. Heathrow said today that its passenger numbers were down 52 per cent in March compared with the same period last year, with many of those journeys being [...]
National Express pulls dividend and secures £800m in new cash facilities April 14, 2020 Transport group National Express said today it was scrapping its dividend and keeping future dividends under review as it said it had secured £800m in new cash facilities. National Express said that two of its workers had died of coronavirus globally and that other members of staff were suffering from the virus. The company said [...]
Manchester Airport backs Virgin Atlantic bailout as airlines call for more support April 12, 2020 The boss of Manchester Airport has pleaded with the chancellor to save Virgin Atlantic from collapse as UK airlines urge the government to extend its support during the coronavirus crisis. Manchester Airports Group chief Charlie Cornish said Virgin was the biggest long-haul carrier at the airport, flying nearly 1m people a year to New York, [...]
