Source: London Evening Standard.

London-based firm Flight Options Limited, which traded as Kiss Flights, officially ceased trading. Flight Options was launched in 1995 offering flights to various Mediterranean destinations. Kiss was set up as a seat-only operator in 2008 following XL Leisure Group‘s collapse.

In all, 13 travel firms have gone bust in the UK this year as a result of the recession, belt-tightening by travellers and the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud that threw European travel into turmoil. That compares with 33 last year.

Sources:

• BBC News
• Sky News

Related Websites:

• BMI announces 600 job losses due to worst recession ever.
• 1700 BA cabin crew members pushed out without parachutes.
• Japan Airline to cut 6800 jobs.
• India’s domestic airlines to cut 2500 jobs.
• Continental Airlines sacks 500 agents.
• Airline Crunch Victims Graveyard.

Mexico’s biggest airline, Mexicana de Aviacion, has filed for bankruptcy protection after failing to reach a deal with trade unions on cost cutting. The heavily-indebted airline said flights would continue while it restructured its finances. Mexicana had proposed deep pay cuts for pilots and crew, as well as a 40% reduction in the workforce.

Mexicana is the biggest airline to go bankrupt since Japan Airlines. It does not come as a big shock: Mexican airlines have faced tough conditions lately, battling the deepest recession in the Americas.

Source: The Economist

Related Website Links:

• BMI announces 600 job losses due to worst recession ever.
• 1700 BA cabin crew members pushed out without parachutes.
• Japan Airline to cut 6800 jobs.
• India’s domestic airlines to cut 2500 jobs.
• Continental Airlines sacks 500 agents.
• Airline Crunch Victims Graveyard.

Can the country stop blaming ED for everything?

British Midlands (BMI) has announced plans to lay off 600 employees and axe five routes as part of a restructuring effort aimed at returning the company to profit.  Most of the job losses at the British airline – now fully owned by German flag carrier Lufthansa – will affect cabin crew and other front-line “operational” staff.  BMI will also cease to operate outbound services to Tel Aviv, Brussels, Kiev and Aleppo as of next January, with flights to Amsterdam being axed in March.  The loss of its Tel Aviv service, which was only launched two years ago, will come as a particularly heavy blow to Heathrow’s second largest carrier.

Announcing the loss of 600 jobs from a workforce of just 4,400, the airline said;

The move takes place against a background where the airline industry is facing the challenges of a downturn in demand and the worst recession in the UK since records began.

Total losses = 600

Source: Cheapflights.co.uk

Nobody wants to make a decision like this, especially when Londoners are feeling the effects of the recession. It is not a decision I have taken lightly. However, the mistakes of the past and the current economic climate have conspired to present us with a huge challenge.

Those words from the mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

So basically he is blaming it on ED!

Posted by Wordmobi

What’s the difference between a recession and a depression? A recession is when your neighbour loses their job; a depression is when you lose yours.

The Mirror.co.uk have devised a list of what is OUT and IN during the recession. We have added a few ourselves at the bottom of the list.

OUT: Baths
IN: Showers

OUT: pints in pub
IN: cans at home

OUT: hairdressers
IN: hair dye kits

OUT: bottled water
IN: tap water

OUT: fresh food
IN: frozen food

OUT: shop sarnies
IN: packed lunches

OUT: branded food
IN: own-labels

OUT: foreign hols
IN: british breaks

OUT: new clothes
IN: mending

OUT: special cleaners
IN: Multi-purpose

OUT: new cars
IN: car repairs

OUT: shop cakes
IN: home baking

OUT: divorce
IN: staying wed

OUT: Shop veg
IN: grow your own

OUT: Starbucks, Nero, Costa
IN: Nescafe in a cup made in company kitchen

OUT: eating out
IN: home cooking

OUT: sky tv
IN: freeview

OUT: Bonus, Salary Increases
IN: Pay cuts and job losses

OUT: Unskilled, lazy, time watchers
IN: Skilled, multitaskers

I guess the question we should be asking is where is Arthur Laffer and Charles Payne today? I bet they are not advising people on their finances or being interviewed on TV.