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

Wednesday, 27 July 2016

Department for Transport

• £344 million London City Airport expansion hailed by ChancellorLondon City Airport expansion will create 1,600 airport jobs and potentially add £1.5 billion to the UK economy by 2025.

Financial Times

• Solar circumnavigation a leap for renewablesPioneer predicts electric-powered flights for public within a decade

The Guardian

• Book now: German readers get extra baggage allowance for holiday readingThe Buch an Bord scheme gives readers an additional kilogram of luggage for free to make room for books. What will you be packing?Having just returned from holiday in France, where thanks to overloading we were 7kg over easyJet’s 20kg weight limit and forced to undertake a rapid repack, here is an initiative I would love to see the UK’s airlines adopt. Publishing Perspectives has reported on the German book trade’s Buch an Bord (Book on Board) campaign with Condor airlines: all passengers displaying a Buch an Bord sticker collected from their local bookseller will be allowed an extra kilo of w...
• Air France strike: travellers face week-long disruption as third of flights scrappedFlights to Europe, north Africa and Israel will be affected, as well as some routes in Asia and Africa, after talks fail A week-long strike by Air France flight crews that starts on Wednesday will see the carrier scrap 30% of domestic and medium-haul flights at the height of the busy holiday period, the carrier has said.About 35% of flight attendants, who account for 13,600 of Air France’s workforce of 50,000, are expected to join a stoppage which the airline said would affect 10% of long-haul flights. Continue reading...

Times Online

• Clearly able to engineer growth [Subscription]With Volvo Aerospace and, more recently, the venerable Fokker business in the Netherlands under its belt, GKN has shown the ability to carry out value-enhancing acquisitions even if this year is a bit of a trough for that side of the business. One analyst was setting an old hare racing yesterday — the demerger of the automotive and aerospace sides.
• Solar aircraft makes history after flying round the world (at 40mph) [Subscription]Bertrand Piccard, the Swiss aeronautical pioneer, touched down in Abu Dhabi yesterday aboard his Solar Impulse aircraft, completing an epic first flight around the world using only the power of sunlight.
• EU seeks arbitration for Norwegian dispute [Subscription]The European Commission will launch an arbitration procedure to resolve a dispute between Norwegian Air Shuttle and US regulators over the budget carrier’s wish to fly to the United States from Ireland, two sources have said.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Optare shortlisted for National Transport AwardOptare has been shortlisted for Transport Supplier of the Year by the National Transport Awards judging committee for its latest innovation, the extended range Solo electric bus. Earlier this year Optare electric buses were independently verified by TfL as the most efficient in London.  However, the challenge set by operators has always been for electric buses to achieve a whole day’s operating range with little or no need for opportunity charging throughout the day. Optare have taken up the challenge and recent development work has increased the range of a Solo electric bus by 50% ...

Aviation Industry

• Virgin America shareholders approve Alaska mergerVirgin America shareholders have approved the San Francisco-based carrier’s proposed merger with Seattle-based Alaska Air Group. read more
• Solar Impulse completes around-the-world flightThe solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse 2 (Si2) has completed the first-ever around-the-world solar flight without a drop of fuel. read more
• Heathrow passport queues: passengers hit by long delaysWhistleblower says Border Force staff are ‘stressed’ and ‘cannot cope’

Other News Sources

• World's first 'car park hotel' opens at Heathrow Airport Genius or ludicrous? Give your car a holiday the same time YOU have a holiday