The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 29/12/2008
Have this year's horror stories left you lost for words? Try Alistair Osborne and Jonathan Sibun's lexicon of a turbulent 12 months.
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 09/12/2008
By Alistair Osborne Last Updated: 5:17PM GMT 09 Dec 2008Check-in information at Stanstead Airport Outlining its proposed price controls for the five years from April 1 2009, the industry regulator said it would allow maximum charges per passenger at £6.34 for the first two years, rising by 1.63 percentage points above inflation thereafter to a maximum £6.65. The £6.34 fee is in line with...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 09/12/2008
By Alistair Osborne, Business Editor Last Updated: 9:36PM GMT 09 Dec 2008 Ready for take off: Aeroflot is bucking the downturn by sticking to its aircraft orders Photo: Reuters The carrier, which is 52pc state-owned, is bucking the current trend to scale back on aircraft orders as the global recession takes hold by pressing ahead with plans to raise it fleet from 85 planes to between...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 09/12/2008
By Helia Ebrahimi and Alistair Osborne Last Updated: 5:02PM GMT 09 Dec 2008 David Ross, right, with Carphone Warehouse chief executive Charles Dunstone As well as stepping down from National Express, Mr Ross also today quit the several roles he had taken in connection with the London 2012 Olympics, leaving the board of the Games' organising committee as well as bodies dealing with the...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 08/12/2008
By Alistair Osborne, Business Editor Last Updated: 6:03PM GMT 08 Dec 2008The operator of 1,599 Coral betting shops, 162 bingo clubs and 29 casinos said pre-tax losses widened from £128m to £397m in the year to September 27 when turnover slipped 3pc to £1.27bn.Hit by the smoking ban and a cut in the number of permitted £500 jackpot machines, bingo operating profits fell 41pc to £65.2m...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 01/12/2008
Michael O'Leary's regular standup comedy routines - a.k.a press conferences - always include a list of European airline takeovers rubberstamped by Brussels writes Alistair Osborne.
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 03/12/2008
By Alistair Osborne, Business Editor Last Updated: 9:06PM GMT 03 Dec 2008 A British Airways plane lands at Heathrow Airport as an Iberia plane waits to take off. Photo: PA Fernando Conte, who has spent the past six months negotiating an all-share merger between the Spanish and UK flag carriers, was surprised to discover on Tuesday that BA was simultaneously discussing a merger with Australia's...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 03/12/2008
By Alistair Osborne Last Updated: 7:26PM GMT 03 Dec 2008Stagecoach GroupShares in the operator of South West Trains and East Midlands Trains – which also owns 49pc of Virgin Rail – dived 28.30 to 143.20p on Wednesday as house broker Credit Suisse chopped operating profits forecasts for the year to April 2010 from £214m to £173m. Go-Ahead shares fell 155p to £10.17, National Express 47½...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 02/12/2008
By Alistair Osborne Last Updated: 7:55PM GMT 02 Dec 2008British AirwaysThe move, described by BA as exploratory, surprised the industry because the UK flag-carrier is already in all-share merger talks with Spain's Iberia and is seeking anti-trust immunity for a transatlantic tie-up with American Airlines. All four airlines are part of the Oneworld alliance, whose fifth major member –...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 02/12/2008
By Jonathan Sibun and Alistair Osborne Last Updated: 7:38PM GMT 02 Dec 2008Thomas Cook GroupEurope's second biggest travel company said operating profits had risen from £73m to £160.6m in the year to the end of September following its merger with MyTravel in June 2007.Pre-tax profits fell 22.9pc to £77.2m as the company was hit by the cost of integrating the two companies. Revenues rose...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 26/11/2008
Stelios warns easyJet shareholders could be wiped outEasyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has raised the stakes in his row with the rest of the board by warning that shareholders could be wiped out unless the airline reins back aircraft purchases. By Alistair Osborne, Business Editor Last Updated: 9:35PM GMT 26 Nov 2008 Stelios warns easyJet shareholders could be wiped out Sir Stelios,...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 26/11/2008
Lord Mandelson defends Gordon Brown from Tory accusations of 'planning secret tax bombshell' Business Secretary Peter Mandelson has accused the Conservatives of "seizing on anything" in order to score political points after official documents disclosed that ministers prepared to increase VAT to 18.5 per cent after the next election. By Robert Winnett, Alistair Osborne, Edmund Conway and...
The Telegraph (Free subscription) | 25/11/2008
By Robert Winnett, Alistair Osborne and Edmund Conway Last Updated: 8:21PM GMT 25 Nov 2008Official documents show that Alistair Darling was originally planning to announce the £5 billion tax increase on Monday but the pre-Budget report was altered shortly before publication.In the pre-Budget report, the Chancellor announced a 13-month cut in VAT from the current rate of 17.5 per...
Cynical Chatter From The Underworld (Free subscription) | 25/11/2008
... drawn up secret plans to increase VAT to 18.5 per cent after the next election. By Robert Winnett, Alistair Osborne and Edmund Conway … VAT hits 18.5%, or does it? BBC News, UK - 54 minutes ago That’s on top of the return to 17.5% already announced, and means roughly £5bn extra on Britain’s shopping bill, as part of the payback budget that will … Treasury denies secret VAT rise plan...
