John Barton, the chairman of fashion retailer Next and Lloyd’s insurer Caitlin, has been chosen as the chairman of budget airline easyJet. The 68-year-old will take over from Sir Mike Rake as non-executive chairman on May 1. John Barton has a daunting task ahead in the role of easyJet chairman as he would have to manage the strained relationship between the company and its founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou. John Barton…

IAG has announced that it would buy 18 Boeing Dreamliners for British Airways despite the battery problems that plagued the Dreamliner aircraft over the past few months. In a deal worth $4bn (£2.6bn), IAG sought Boeing to upgrade the fleet of planes at its subsidiary British Airways. The glitch in the deal is that it would be considered only when Iberia would have restructured and reduced its cost base and…

Virgin Atlantic is likely to hold talks regarding a joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia which would give the Richard Branson-owned carrier to increase its number of flights to Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The move signals Virgin Atlantic’s efforts to return to profitability with major changes to its business model which is likely to take away much of its independence which the carrier thrives on. Recently, Virgin Atlantic…

IAG is likely to place an order for Airbus A350 long-range jet aircraft for its British Airways unit, according to sources familiar with the talks. The deal, if completed, would mean a significant win of EADS over rival Boeing, which has been trying to get IAG to purchase a proposed update of its 777 model, dubbed the 777X, in order to compete with the A350. The exact number of planes…

The UK has privatised its helicopter service by selling to a US-based company bringing an end to 70 years of Sea King search operations by the RAF and the Royal Navy. In a deal worth £1.6bn, Bristow Group, which is based in Texas, will now run the UK’s search-and-rescue (SAR) helicopter service in Britain from 2015 to 2026. The Department for Transport (DoT) said the contract would deliver improved flying…

Airbus has won a historic order worth $20bn (£13.2bn) at list prices from Indonesia’s Lion Air for more than 200 A320 medium-haul jets, beating rival Boeing’s hold on one of the world’s fastest-growing airlines. Uptil now, Lion Air has been equipped with almost exclusively by US rival Boeing. This is the first time that it has preferred Airbus to Boeing. Last year, Lion Air ordered 201 planes from Boeing worth…

Thomas Cook has announced another round of cost-cutting worth £50m to raise up to £150m by disposing off its non-core businesses and bringing the total savings to £350m in an effort to revive its loss making travel business. The travel group’s chief executive Harriet Green will be seen charting a turnaround strategy with a ‘high tech, high touch’ approach which will see the travel operator simplify its functionality and sharpen…

Virgin Atlantic imposed a pay freeze with immediate effect following deep losses of £135 million, evoking fear of job cuts. In a memo issued to the staff at the Richard Branson-owned airline, the chief executive Craig Keeger warned that the company’s performance was way below the anticipated level and that ‘tough calls’ would be taken, instilling fear of job cuts among 9,000 staff.

Thomas Cook plans to cut 2,500 jobs in the UK as a part of its turnaround strategy which also involves the closure of 195 UK stores among its 1,069 high street travel agencies. Most of the job cuts would be within its retail network and in back-office and administrative positions. Specifying the locations at risk of job losses, Thomas Cook said its head offices at Peterborough in east England, Preston…

Manchester Airport Group (MAG) has announced the acquisition of Stansted Airport from Heathrow Airport Holdings, formerly known as BAA, for £1.5bn, while competitor of the bid Ryanair announced reduction of traffic to the airport by 9% over the coming year from 12.5 million to 11.4 million. MAG is slated to takeover the Stansted Airport by the end of March 2013. The ailing Stansted Airport was put up for sale by…