Virgin Group searching for partner for Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic Airways founder and Virgin Group Chairman Sir Richard Branson stated the carrier needs a partner to compete with British Airways and that he plans to stay a "major shareholder" in the carrier. Sir Richard stated the carrier has seen some offers and is in discussions with "various people" without elaborating further.
Deutsche Bank is conducting a review into the future of the carrier. Singapore Airlines controls 49% of the airline.
easyJet reported the following traffic highlights in Mar-2011:
- Passenger numbers: 4.4 million, +11.9% year-on-year;
- Passenger load factor: 86.9%, -0.6 ppt.
airberlin reported the following traffic highlights in Mar-2011:
- Passenger numbers: 2.6 million, -0.2% year-on-year;
- Passenger load factor: 73.6%, +1.8 ppts.
Shares in UK and Ireland based carriers lead a better day for European airline shares. Aer Lingus rose 4.1%, while Dart Group, parent of Jet2.com, was up 4%. easyJet, Thomas Cook and Ryanair all traded strongly.
Selected EAD daily share price movements (% change): 06-Apr-2011
