Latest news with #Slough-based
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New British airline opens first transatlantic flight sale – here's how much tickets cost
Global Airlines, the British start-up airline planning a transatlantic network, has started selling tickets for its first flight. Seats have gone on sale one month before planned inaugural flight from Glasgow to New York. An Airbus A380 is scheduled to depart from the Scottish city at 11am on 15 May. The world's biggest passenger plane, fitted with more than 500 seats, is due to arrive at JFK airport seven hours later. The aircraft will remain on the ground in New York for four days, returning to Scotland on 19 May. The next venture leaves Manchester two days later, on 21 May, for another four-day trip to New York. The aircraft is a 12-year-old former China Southern jet. Although it is owned by Global Airlines, it will be operated by Hi Fly Malta, a subsidiary of the Portuguese aviation firm Hi Fly. Tickets for what is a charter flight are being sold through a Slough-based 'travel solutions company', Travelopedia. The configuration is the same as the China Southern original: 428 economy seats, 70 business and eight first class. A 'Global Traveller' (economy class) return ticket is selling for £778. Business class is £3,700, while first costs £7,127. At 9am on Tuesday, the online seat map shows two of the eight first class seats filled. Unlike the originally envisaged scheduled link between London Gatwick and JFK, the maiden flight is one of a pair of one-off charters rather than regular scheduled flights. Ahead of the launch, founder and chief executive James Asquith posted on Instagram: 'There is nothing better than seeing our first aircraft in the sky where it belongs. 'Seeing 9H-GLOBL flying reminds me of the monumental efforts of so many people in the last two years that have led us to this moment. I want to say a huge thank you to every single person who has played their part in this journey.' In May 2024, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated Mr Asquith's wealth at £182m. The 36-year-old airline founder told The Independent before the first tickets went on sale: 'I'm feeling good. It's been a long road to get here. It's those crazy kind of last couple of days and weeks looking to enter into service and it has certainly not been easy. 'We knew it would be massively challenging. But we persevered and here we are.' Many aviation industry insiders have questioned the prospects of a start-up airline profitably filling seats on the world's biggest passenger plane across the Atlantic – especially with figures showing a sharp downturn in travel to the US from the UK and the rest of Europe since Donald Trump began his second term as president. Normally nonstop air fares between the UK and US soar towards £1,000 return during the summer peak. But The Independent has found Manchester-New York flights on Aer Lingus on sale for just £368 return in July. At present no other airline flies from Glasgow to New York. But from Edinburgh airport, 42 miles away, three airlines compete between the Scottish capital and America's biggest city: JetBlue, United and Virgin Atlantic. On the same dates as Global Airlines, United is selling tickets for £413 return – though this does not include checked baggage. That puts the premium from Scotland to New York for Global Airlines as 88 per cent.
The Independent
15-04-2025
- Business
- The Independent
New British airline opens first transatlantic flight sale – here's how much tickets cost
Global Airlines, the British start-up airline planning a transatlantic network, has started selling tickets for its first flight. Seats have gone on sale one month before planned inaugural flight from Glasgow to New York. An Airbus A380 is scheduled to depart from the Scottish city at 11am on 15 May. The world's biggest passenger plane is due to arrive at JFK airport seven hours later. The aircraft will remain on the ground in New York for four days, returning to Scotland on 19 May. The next venture leaves Manchester two days later, on 21 May, for another four-day trip to New York. The aircraft is a 12-year-old former China Southern jet. Although it is owned by Global Airlines, it will be operated by Hi Fly Malta, a subsidiary of the Portuguese aviation firm Hi Fly. Tickets for what is a charter flight are being sold through a Slough-based 'travel solutions company', Travelopedia. A 'Global Traveller' (economy class) return ticket is selling for £778. Business class is £3,700, while First costs £7,127. At 9am on Tuesday, the online seat map shows two of the eight First class seats filled. Unlike the originally envisaged scheduled link between London Gatwick and JFK, the maiden flight is one of a pair of one-off charters rather than regular scheduled flights. Ahead of the launch, founder and chief executive James Asquith posted on Instagram: 'There is nothing better than seeing our first aircraft in the sky where it belongs. 'Seeing 9H-GLOBL flying reminds me of the monumental efforts of so many people in the last two years that have led us to this moment. I want to say a huge thank you to every single person who has played their part in this journey.' In May 2024, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated Mr Asquith's wealth at £182m. The 36-year-old airline founder told The Independent before the first tickets went on sale: 'I'm feeling good. It's been a long road to get here. It's those crazy kind of last couple of days and weeks looking to enter into service and it has certainly not been easy. 'We knew it would be massively challenging. But we persevered and here we are.' Many aviation industry insiders have questioned the prospects of a start-up airline profitably filling seats on the world's biggest passenger plane across the Atlantic – especially with figures showing a sharp downturn in travel to the US from the UK and the rest of Europe since Donald Trump began his second term as president. At present no other airline flies from Glasgow to New York. But from Edinburgh airport, 42 miles away, three airlines compete between the Scottish capital and America's biggest city: JetBlue, United and Virgin Atlantic. On the same dates as Global Airlines, United is selling tickets for £413 return – though this does not include checked baggage.
BBC News
14-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Breast cancer pill 'step forward', say Berkshire survivors
Two women who had breast cancer say a new pill which helps reduce its spread is a "step in the right direction".Nina Barough, from Wokingham, who founded breast cancer charity Walk the Walk and Samina Hussain who runs Slough-based charity Sakoon Through Cancer said it was "heartwarming and joyful" is used to treat incurable breast cancer and has shown to have slowed the disease twice-a-day pill, which is for the most common type of advanced breast cancer, has been approved on the NHS and could potentially benefit up to 3,000 women every year. Ms Barough said she had had breast cancer "almost 30 years ago" and the medical advancement was "great news".She said: "Nothing was targeted, the knowledge that there was different cancer and all the different nuances that you have today that have been identified where not identified then."It's just heartwarming to wake up and see this news..."It just takes us another step further for treatments to be so efficient in helping people to live longer." Breast cancer survivor Ms Hussain, who runs workshops and support groups for south Asian women in the Thames Valley, explained she had surgery for a lumpectomy, in which only the area of the breast with the cancer is was followed by chemotherapy for more than six months."I ended up with a blood clot and I just became very isolated, very slow as an individual cognitively and physically," she said."There is a sense of relief, sense of joy, that actually we are moving forward with medicine."We are taking into account women's health and really listening to how much the side effects can destroy a person."BBC health Correspondent Sophie Hutchinson said capivasertib was considered "groundbreaking" for some women with advanced breast cancer."It was designed to combat the most common type of the disease known as HR positive with a particular gene mutation."Trials have shown that the drug shrinks tumours in 23% of women and doubles the time treatment remains effective." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
26-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Staff at Slough-based John Crane set to strike in April and May
Employees at an engineering firm are set to stage a series of strikes over pay from next Unite members at Slough-based firm John Crane are set to walk out for six days across April and May, after they rejected a final pay offer of 3%.Unite said it followed a decade of below-inflation pay increases, and the previous CEO being awarded a 22% pay rise last year.A spokesperson for John Crane said they were "committed to engaging with Unite to reach a resolution". The John Crane workers make mechanical engineering seals for bearings and pumps for the oil and gas action is set to take place on 3, 10, 17, 22 April, and 1 and 6 general secretary Sharon Graham said the workers had "the full support of Unite"."It is a disgrace that John Crane's loyal workforce have been subjected to a decade of below-inflation pay increases especially when senior management are on extremely high salaries," she regional officer Malcolm Bonnett said it was the first time the workers had gone on strike."The industrial action is a direct reaction to management's refusal to offer our members a meaningful pay increase," he said."Strike action will inevitably cause disruption to the company's supply chains but this is entirely of TJ Crane's own making."The John Crane spokesperson said: "While we respect the right of our employees to take industrial action, we are focused on maintaining open communication and minimising any disruption to our operations and customers."We will continue to engage with Unite in good faith to find a constructive way forward." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Independent
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Ricky Gervais explains why he turned down Steve Carell's Office US role
Ricky Gervais has said that he turned down being cast as Michael Scott in the US series of The Office because he didn't want to move to America. Speaking to The Independent for the 20th anniversary of the much-loved American version of The Office, Gervais, who co-created the original 2001 British series with Stephen Merchant, reflected on the process of transforming the Slough-based workplace mockumentary into a hit American sitcom. When the show was picked up for American TV and the roles were being cast, Gervais – who played middle manager David Brent in the original series – was asked by the show's producer Ben Silverman if he wanted to play the US equivalent of Brent, Michael Scott. Explaining his decision, Gervais said: 'Before we cast, [Silverman] called me and said 'Why don't you play Michael Scott?' I said, 'That is mental. It makes no sense at all.'' 'Why would I do it? The reason The Office resonated was because it was made in England for English people. It's got to be made by Americans for Americans.' The real reason he declined, however, was because he didn't want to move to America to shoot the series across seven years, working long hours five days a week. 'I'd have been crying after the first 22 episodes, asking Dwight [Rainn Wilson] to murder me,' he joked. The role eventually went to The Daily Show's Steve Carell, but many others were in the running. 'Bob Odenkirk would've been brilliant,' Merchant told The Independent. 'It's interesting. Initially, he didn't seem to have the immediate warmth that Carell [had], or certainly not then. Yet, when you've seen him in things like Better Call Saul, it's all there. It's hard to know.' 'It would've been equally good but sometimes when you're casting, you can feel when it's the right person.' Carell's performance as manager Michael Scott was a huge success and resulted in him receiving six Emmy Award nominations during the six years that The Office US aired. Gervais divulged that when Carell was preparing to play the role, he couldn't watch episodes of the UK show out of fear of copying Gervais's iconic David Brent performance. 'When Steve got the job he said, 'I have to stop watching it so I don't do an impression of you,'' Gervais said. 'Because once you see Brent's tics, they're irresistible – looking awkward, saying nothing and looking at the camera.' Merchant added that Carrell was 'cautious' about not trying to replicate Gervais's character. 'The more he got into the role, the more the shadow of Ricky's performance disappeared. By the second series, he'd got into a groove of his own and was able to inhabit the character in the way Ricky had,' said Merchant. Gervais also admitted that many presumed the US series would be 'hated' due to the poor track record for British TV being rebooted for American audiences at the time. 'All of the people who knew The Office, loved The Office, and they were the industry. People were assuming [the remake] was going to be hated.' 'I'd seen 30 years of every single remake failing,' said Gervais. 'Some were pulled after the first episode, because advertising was so important. They'd just kill it. [But] I thought 'Why not?' I've got nothing to lose, nothing to beat. It'll be fun.'' The Office US was such a success that Gervais reckons 'most Americans don't know about the English show'. 'There's our version and this brilliant cover version,' he said. Merchant added that he's proud of both versions, which 'share many of the same elements but they're both different'. 'I'm extremely proud of the American one and if I'm flicking through TV and it's on, I'll watch it as a fan,' he said. 'I can see it from a distance and enjoy it like anyone else.'
