6:43 am, June 13, 2024
Wizz Air ranked worst airline for delays
Wizz Air has been ranked the worst airline for UK flight delays, an investigation has found.
The low-cost carrier’s departures from UK airports were an average of 31 minutes and 36 seconds behind schedule in 2023, according to analysis of Civil Aviation Authority data by the PA news agency.
This was a reduction of nearly a third compared with 2022, but means the airline has recorded the worst punctuality for UK flights for three consecutive years.
FedEx cutting up to 2,000 jobs across Europe
Up to 2,000 jobs are being cut across FedEx in Europe in the latest move by the parcel delivery giant to slash costs.
The Memphis-headquartered group plans to cut its European back-office and commercial workforce by 1,700 to 2,000 over the next 18 months.
FedEx, which employs nearly 50,000 people across Europe, said the jobs cull, which is subject to consultations, will help it save between $125m (circa £97.2m) and $175m (£136.2m) a year, starting from 2026-27.
Whisky maker in ‘revised offer’ to staff ahead of planned strikes over pay
Whisky maker Whyte & Mackay has made an undisclosed ‘revised offer’ to employees as it seeks to avert industrial action at three of its distilleries.
GMB Scotland members at the company’s Dalmore and Invergordon distilleries in Ross and Cromarty as well as Tamnavulin in Moray voted to walk out after receiving the previous pay offer, which they described as an ‘insult’ at a time they said the company was making record profits.
The walkouts are due to begin on June 24, followed by 11 days of strikes in July and a further two weeks in August.
Former SpaceX employees sue company for wrongfully firing critics of Elon Musk
Eight former employees have sued SpaceX and its chief executive Elon Musk, alleging he ordered their firing after they challenged what they called rampant sexual harassment and a hostile ‘Animal House’-style work environment at the company.
The employees, who filed the lawsuit in a California state court, detailed their complaints in a 2022 open letter to management they shared via a company intranet. The next day, four of the plaintiffs were fired, they alleged, while others had their jobs terminated later after an internal investigation.
The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified monetary damages. SpaceX did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.
Musk drops lawsuit against ChatGPT maker OpenAI
In other Elon Musk news, the Tesla owner has dropped his lawsuit against OpenAI just ahead of a scheduled hearing on the case.
He sued the San Francisco artificial intelligence company and its chief executive, Sam Altman, in February over what he said was a betrayal of the ChatGPT maker’s founding aims of benefiting humanity rather than pursuing profits.
Musk bankrolled OpenAI’s creation, but most legal experts said his claims were unlikely to succeed in court. No explanation was given for why the case was being dropped.
Suspect in Tamara Ecclestone and Frank Lampard burglaries charged in Serbia
A man accused of being involved in burglaries at Frank Lampard and Tamara Ecclestone’s homes has been charged in Serbia.
According to the BBC, Serbian court documents allege Ljubomir Romanov invested money in the UK via ‘criminal activities’.
The alleged money-laundering offences are understood to be linked to raids on the homes of socialite Ecclestone, former Chelsea and England midfielder Lampard and the late owner of Leicester City FC, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. Items worth a total of £26m were taken in the burglaries in 2019, with £25m of that from Ecclestone’s mansion.
Holidaymakers told to avoid excess insurance from car hire firms
Holidaymakers are being urged to avoid insurance excess waivers offered by car hire companies costing up to 12 times more than alternatives.
Consumer group Which? said it found travellers could be charged up to £199 at car hire desks for policies with super collision damage waivers that are inferior to options available online for as little as £16.
Editor Rory Boland said: ‘You should never take excess insurance from your car hire firm, no matter how hard the sell. Buy an excess reimbursement insurance either directly from an insurer or via your car hire broker.’
Olivia Colman ‘shocked at neglect of arts funding in UK’
The Crown star Olivia Colman is among those calling for more funding of the arts in the UK after ‘shocking’ levels of neglect were found across the country.
Colman was reacting to a report commissioned by performing arts and entertainment union Equity, which said financing of British arts councils fell by £189,981,567 – 16% – in real terms between 2017 and 2022.
Colman said of the report: ‘It is shocking to see how this key sector of the economy, and its workforce, has been neglected, despite its huge contribution to the UK’s standing in the world, and our public life.’ Equity is asking political parties during their general election campaigns to commit to increase UK arts and entertainment funding to 0.5% of GDP.
BYD Seal U on sale from £33,205
BYD’s new Seal U has gone on sale in the UK with a starting price of £33,205.
The brand’s first plug-in hybrid combines a 1.5-litre petrol engine with a 18.3kWh battery and electric motor to give up to a claimed 49.7 miles of electric-only range.
BYD says that when combined with the petrol engine, this allows the Seal U to travel for up to 671 miles when fully filled and charged.
Yesterday’s headlines on Car Dealer you might have missed
- JCT600’s profits slide as move to agency hits turnover and franchises are ditched
- Huge row breaks out with EU set to announce additional 25% tariffs on Chinese EVs
- UK’s dieselgate claims against car manufacturers said to be worth at least £6bn, High Court told
- JLR pledges more than £1m to support ‘proactive policing’ as part of crackdown on thefts
- Stellantis celebrates 60 years of new car production at famous Ellesmere Port plant
Market movements
The FTSE 100 closed 67.67 points up yesterday to end the day on 8,215.48. The Cac 40 was up 75.49 points at 7,864.70, the Dax was up 260.92 points at 18,630.86, but the Dow Jones was down 35.21 points at 38,712.21.
Weather outlook
Today, a band of rain will spread in from the west, says BBC Weather. Eastern areas will stay dry until the early afternoon, with sunny spells in north-eastern Scotland, and it’ll turn windy across western areas.
Friday will bring unsettled conditions with scattered showers, some of them heavy and locally as well as thundery during the afternoon and evening. There will also be sunny spells in between, and it’ll be less breezy.
