Transportinfo.org.uk - today's transport news in the uk, hand picked for you each morning

Saturday, 08 August 2009

BBC News

• Japan Airlines records $1bn lossJapan Airlines - the largest carrier in Asia - reports a $1bn loss in the three months to May, after ticket sales slumped.
• US boosts car scrappage by $2bnThe US Senate approves a further $2bn for the car scrappage scheme, after initial funds of $1bn ran out in 10 days.

Financial Times

• Japan Airlines cuts service after $1bn loss Japan Airlines, Asia's biggest air carrier by revenue, suffered a record $1bn loss in the quarter to June as the recession and fears over swine flu kept passengers from flying
• Asian shipping lines suffer heavy blowOrient Overseas and Hanjin Shipping both report steep losses, lower container volumes and prices per container shipped to complete a grim week for the crisis-hit industry

The Guardian

• Ronnie Biggs becomes a free manRonnie Biggs was today formally freed from his prison sentence after being granted a compassionate release by the government.It was the first time in 45 years that the Great Train Robber had been not wanted or imprisoned by the British state, but the joy of his family and supporters was tempered by the fact the 79-year-old is seriously ill and not expected to recover.His son Michael waved the paperwork granting the release at journalists waiting outside Norfolk and Norwich hospital, where Biggs is being treated for pneumonia. Witnesses said prison guards left the hospital shortly after 2pm.Mi...

Times Online

• BA begins fightback with fare increasesBritish Airways has today increased its long-haul fares across the board by up to £40 per round trip.
• Magna announces $205m loss on car slump$Continued steep declines in car production around the world contributed to a second quarter loss of $205 million ($£122 million), or $1.83 per share, at Magna International, the Canadian car parts manufacturer that is bidding for General Motors' European Opel and Vauxhall business. This compares with a net profit of US$227 million, or US$1.98 per share, for the same period last year.$

Mail Online

• Former Beijing airport boss executed after being found guilty of corruption
• ANDREA KON: Scrap our free bus passes? That'll be your ticket to ballot box oblivion, Mr Brown

The Mirror

• Target child benefit for means testing, not bus passesMillions of over-60s could lose their free bus passes under plans to means-test the scheme.

ATOC

• ATOC RESPONDS TO STATEMENT BY PASSENGER FOCUS AND LONDON TRAVELWATCH ON TRAVEL TO AIRPORTSMichael Roberts, Chief Executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies, comments:   œRailcards and Gold Card season tickets provide excellent value for money, which is why millions of passengers already use them to make savings on many types of journey, including to airports. 

Network Rail

• PASSENGERS SAFE AND SECURE AT BIRMINGHAM NEW STREET

Belfast Telegraph

• Scrappage scheme boost to new car sales The beleaguered motor industry has received a much-needed boost when new car sale figures rose for the first time since April last year. Related StoriesPublic projects shore up Ulster building industryUlster Bank to shed 250 jobsMore job losses in black day for local economyMore Ulster Bank job lossesCall centre announces 80 new jobs
• Deal ensures cheaper flights for civil servants Civil servants from Northern Ireland will enjoy cheaper flights on official business after a deal was struck with airlines today. Related StoriesRecession catches up with Belfast’s top nightspotsNorthern Ireland leads the UK for mobile phone useAer Lingus wins Civil Service dealClosure of engineering company costs 50 jobsCall centre to recruit 80 new multi-lingual staff

London Evening Standard

• Fast rail link plan in case Tories get inPlans for a high-speed railway from London to Birmingham via Heathrow are being drawn up on the basis that the Tories will block a third runway if they win the general election
• Third runway protesters win bid for public hearingCampaigners against a third runway at Heathrow have won the right for a public hearing to examine their case
• Pedal to work on Cycle FridayCommuters are being urged to get on a bike and travel to work in convoys on Fridays from next week
• Woman in critical condition after bus swerves into treeA woman is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after a crash in Croydon

The News (Portsmouth)

• South West Trains come under fire for on board announcementsA fed-up MP is railing against train companies for bombarding passengers with irritating announcements.
• Shipworkers get ready for vote on industrial actionHUNDREDS of Portsmouth shipyard workers will begin voting on strike action on Monday.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Airline cancels Malaga flights from AberdeenA Scottish budget airline has cancelled its winter flights from Aberdeen to a popular Spanish tourist destination due to falling demand.
• MP pushes for single-deck school busesBus operators could be banned from using double-decker vehicles for school contracts if a shake-up of safety legislation put forward by a north-east MP is backed by parliament.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Smoother ride for Leeds bus passengersBUS passengers in Leeds will soon be enjoying smoother rides thanks to revolutionary "spy in the sky" technology.

Blackpool Gazette

• War hero's fury over car ticketA WAR veteran on parade in Blackpool returned to his car to find a £50 parking ticket on the windscreen “ despite the disability badge being on display.

Burnley Express

• Padiham scrap metal dealer in £27,000 raid on shipping container A SCRAP metal dealer who took part in a "£27,000" raid on a shipping container nearly paid the price with his freedom.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Kettering residents call for truck drivers to goResidents angry at lorry drivers parking outside their homes are calling for them to be moved from their estate.
• Big rise in hospital parking revenue Patients and staff at Kettering General Hospital paid out more than £500,000 in car parking fees in 12 months.

Peterborough Telegraph

• Union plans fund for striking train driversA rail union behind strikes against National Express East Anglia is to set up a hardship fund to support drivers facing financial difficulties because of the industrial action
• Commuters hit by second day of rail strikePassengers are enduring delays again because of a continuing strike by National Express East Anglia workers.

International Herald Tribune

• Problems Found in Airspeed Sensors on Airbus A330 PlanesA dozen recent Northwest Airlines flights also had problems with a component suspected in an Air France crash.
• Driving Out of Germany, to Pollute Another DayGermany’s “cash-for-clunkers” program is being undermined as cars that were supposed to have been junked are finding their way to markets in Africa and Eastern Europe.

Washington Post

• Magna swings to loss on slowing auto production TORONTO (Reuters) - Magna International Inc , one of the bidders vying to buy carmaker Opel from General Motors , reported a quarterly loss on Friday given a decline in global auto production.
• BMW, Daimler see July deliveries decline FRANKFURT -- Germany's Daimler AG and BMW AG said Friday that their worldwide car sales fell by more than 10 percent in July as the global economic downturn curbed demand for luxury autos.
• In Europe, 'cash for clunkers' drives sales BERLIN -- For months, European car buyers have been junking clunkers for cash, boosting automakers sales - but making experts fear that once the government handouts stop, the struggling car industry will return to a slump no pile of cash can conquer.
• New GM worries about regaining consumer confidence DETROIT -- The new General Motors Co. said Friday it was worried about regaining consumer confidence following its exit from Chapter 11, and that its sales won't improve in 2009 as U.S. economic troubles continue.
• 'Cash-for-clunkers' program gets $2B refill WASHINGTON -- Car shoppers caught up in the frenzy of the
• Small Automakers Take Big Electric Leap Coda Automotive employs 41 people. It has a headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif., but it doesn't have its own factory. It doesn't have its own dealer network. It doesn't have a coterie of designers. Its chief executive, Kevin Czinger, a one-time college football star and former assistant U.S. attorney, has spent most of his career working in finance.

Railnews

• News: Now it’s Woking to Paris in under four hours SOUTH West Trains has become the latest rail operator to team up with Eurostar in a joint ticketing deal which will enable passengers to book direct to Paris and Brussels.

Aviation Industry

• Pinnacle chief: Flight 3407 pilot should not have been flyingThe president of Pinnacle Airlines, which owns the airline that operated a plane that crashed in Clarence in February, killing 50, today acknowledged the pilot did not belong in the pilot's seat.
• H.K.'s flagship air carrier returns to black due to fuel hedgingThe Cathay Pacific Group, which operates Hong Kong' flagship air carriers Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair, reported a profit for the first half this year because of changed fuel prices, Chairman Christopher Pratt said Wednesday.
• Delta will cut more management jobsDelta Air Lines Inc., the world's biggest airline operator, is planning to cut more management and administrative jobs, but isn't saying how many, according to a recorded message and a memo from top executives.
• APNewsBreak: Airspeed systems failed on US planesIn this June 14, 2009 file photo, workers unload debris, belonging to crashed Air France flight AF447, from the Brazilian Navy's Constitution Frigate in the port of Recife, northeast of Brazil.

Other News Sources

• No-frills airlines thriving in recessionLow-cost airlines are actually doing well in the recession as many people are choosing them over the full-service airlines. Companies such as easyJet are cashing in during the recession as passengers are worrying more about the cost of flights than what they will get on them. Last summer saw fuel prices esculate which is why all airlines [...]
• People refuse to let recession stop their holidaysThe recession has hit everyone in one way or another, however people are still determined to get just as many holidays this year as they did last year. A massive 77% of people surveyed have said that they will still be making the effort to go away this year. A further 72% of people claimed that they [...]
• Heathrow Passengers face delaysThanks to a lack of aircraft piers, passengers now have the possibility of facing long delays when boarding or disembarking their aircraft. 89% of the 55,000 passengers that use termnal 5 each day are supposed to have access to the gangways, however BAA has been shown to be falling short of this target by 5%, with [...]
• Brits favour premium long haul over mini-breaks Holidaymakers are still favouring a single, premium long-haul holiday and turning their backs on European mini breaks, according the American Express (Amex)...
• Shorepower Awarded Millions for Transportation InfrastructureShorepower receives a US Dept of Energy grant to build pedestals that allow long-haul trucks to plug-in during required rest periods instead of idling on diesel fuel, saving millions of gallons of fuel and associated emissions.
• GEM Electric Vehicles Now Legal to Cruise the Streets of MassachusettsState of Massachusetts Legalizes Neighborhood Electric Vehicles on City Streets Posted 30mph.
• This week in 1929Almost a decade before the Hindenburg disaster put people off taking to the skies in airships, there was a great deal of optimism about their potential for transatlantic travel.
• Texting While Driving Greatly Increases Crash RisksA new study shows that texting drivers are 23 times more likely to crash or have a near-crash than drivers who aren't texting.
• Liverpool given transport boostTransport links from the M62 into Liverpool town centre have been given a £17.1M investment by transport minister Sadiq Khan.
• Rail action sees more travel delays
• African transport unions make progress towards unificationTransport unions in the Africa region have made moves towards a united approach following discussions at a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya recently.
• Box rise cheers HanjinHANJIN Shipping pointed today to a sunny 22.7% rise in container transport volume in this year™s second quarter “ even as the South Korean major revealed net losses of $325M.
• Rail delays expected post-strikeRail delays expected post-strike
• Train robber Ronnie Biggs is freedRonnie Biggs has been released from his prison sentence after being given his freedom on compassionate grounds. Andy Davies reports.

Other Subscription Services

• UK steps up checks on port cranesHSE inspects more ship-to-shore box cranes as part of probe into Southampton crane crash.
• Peru beefs up security after cruiseship robberyAQUA Expeditions chief executive Francesco Galli Zugaro has been holding talks with senior government officials in Peru this week after an armed robbery on board Amazon cruiseship Aqua
• Shipping foreclosures set to riseBANKS expected to take action as covenant breaches become an almost daily occurrence.