Bosses of four major airlines in the UK have slammed the government’s consultation over Air Passenger Duty, calling it a sham. Despite powerful figures in the travel industry repeatedly asking that the tax be scrapped, the government has announced that there will be no significant changes. Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways and Iberia [...]

Several UK and Ireland-based airlines are asking ministers to scrap a scheduled rise in Air Passenger Duty tax rates. Ryanair, Easyjet, Virgin Atlantic and UK flag carrier British Airways said this week that the tax functioned as a ‘penalty’ for British holidaymakers and make the United Kingdom less attractive to international travellers. Air Passenger Duty [...]

Low-cost airline easyJet has published full-year pre-tax profits of £248 million. The figure, for the 12 months ending 30 September is in line with analyst’s predictions, and is up from £154 million for the 2010 fiscal year. The airline said that the increase was due to more European travellers booking with the carrier, and a [...]

Heavy competition appears to be driving down profits a both of Belfast’s airports, according to analysts. Pre-tax profits for Belfast City Airport only amounted to £15,000 this year on a £17.1 million turnover in 2010, marking a substantial drop from the £433,000 seen the year prior. Similarly, Belfast International Airport’s profits dropped a full 11 [...]

British Airways’ parent company International Airlines Group has announced that it has established a new airline in Spain which will cater for short-haul and medium-haul travel. IAG was formed at the beginning of the year after BA and Spanish flag carrier Iberia joined forces. The new airline is to be called Iberia Express. The group [...]

Low-cost carrier EasyJet has announced a special dividend payment and a rise for its profit forecast. The announcement on Monday cited exceptional performance thanks to a ‘robust’ rise in the number of business travellers carried by the no-frills airline. The firm said it is now expecting full-year profits between £240 million and £250 million, up [...]

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the often outspoken founder of low-budget carrier easyJet, has announced that he is to establish a brand new airline to be called FastJet. Sir Stelios and his family currently control 38 per cent of easyJet, but it has not been a particularly easy ride recently with the magnate entering into a number [...]

Britain’s newest royal couple surprised passengers and reporters on Sunday by flying home from Edinburgh on a Flybe jet. The couple was in Scotland to attend the wedding of Zara Phillips, Prince William’s cousin, when instead of opting for first class or a private aircraft chose to sit next to everyday passengers onboard a low-cost [...]

Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair has said it will have to increase its fare prices in order to cope with the high price of aviation fuel. The carrier said that although it has already purchased around 90 per cent of the fuel it will use this year, it has had to pay 18 per cent more [...]

EasyJet passengers in France face possible disruption, as cabin crew announce a 48-hour strike. The walkout will begin tonight at midnight and will continue through to 11.59pm on 13 July. The French union UNAC said strike action had become necessary after easyJet management refused to address issues including levels of pay and social security. Although the [...]