Virgin Atlantic is investing some £100 million in airport lounges and cabin service to attract new business travellers. The company, under the wing of British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, said in a statement this week that it would be revamping its premium class cabin menus to include a new cheese tray, afternoon tea and even [...]

Caribbean tourism is being damaged by the high cost of travelling to the region from the UK. Over the past half-decade there has been a 16 per cent drop in the number of people stepping off a plane from the UK. One of the reasons for this is the Air Passenger Duty added on to [...]

UK-based Virgin Atlantic has been named the top international airline in the Travel Weekly Readers’ Choice Awards. Among other award recipients, readers of the travel publication chose Delta Airlines as the best US-based carrier whilst Singapore Airlines was named as the best provider of first class and business class services. Meanwhile, readers recognised international hotelier [...]

Top airline executives in the British Isles are once again urging the Government to axe the UK’s air passenger duty (APD) tax. Willie Walsh, the head official for International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, has united with Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary, Carolyn Mcall of easyJet and Steve Ridgeway, chief executive [...]

International Airlines Group has announced that it has reached a deal to acquire BMI from its German owners. IAG, the parent firm of British Airways and Iberia, said in an official statement released on Thursday that it had signed a £172.5 million deal and hoped the acquisition would be completed within the first three months [...]

BMI has said it has not yet chosen a buyer. The troubled company is at the centre of a bidding war in which International Airlines Group (IAG), British Airway’s parent company, and Virgin Atlantic seek the Lufthansa-owned entity in order to take hold of its valuable landing slots at overcrowded Heathrow airport. The news comes [...]

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 [...]

Nigerian aviation officials have announced fines for Virgin Atlantic and British Airways amid a row over airfares. The country’s civil aviation authority say that the two carriers had colluded in their efforts to charge more for flights to the neighbouring nation of Ghana than for flights to Nigeria. British Airways faces a fine of 135 [...]

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 [...]

The UK’s consumer watchdog has confirmed it will pursue a £121.5 million fine from British Airways over allegations of a fuel surcharge price-fixing scandal. The news came yesterday via an official ‘statement of objections’ from the Office of Fair Trading, which said that authorities would move forward with its efforts for the alleged scheme involving [...]