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The latest news from Europe’s business movers and shakers

INFRASTRUCTURE

Not employee of the month
A majority of consumers believe that Willie Walsh, the CEO of British Airways, should resign over the chaotic opening of Heathrow’s Terminal 5, a survey for The Times has revealed. The poll, conducted by Populus, found that 88% thought the T5 problems called into question the ability of BA’s senior management and 82% thought it would seriously damage the reputation of British business as a whole. The survey found that 65% thought Mr Walsh should resign over T5 and only 4% felt strongly that he should stay. It also found that 57% would be less likely to fly BA as a result of T5, which will be a concern to BA, which announced a fare rise the day after the poll.

AVIATION

Business-class carriers suffering
The turbulence worsens in the aviation sector. In late April, Eos Airlines, the US all-business class carrier flying between London and New York, collapsed into bankruptcy after efforts to raise €32m failed. Earlier in April, Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, the Asian carrier that sought to bring low-cost air travel to the long-haul sector, halted operations between Hong Kong and London and Vancouver, as it fell into bankruptcy. Meanwhile, Silverjet, the UK all-business class airline, signed a memorandum of understanding with a Middle East investor for an injection of about €16m in debt and equity. The airline said it expected a debt facility of around €11m would be made available “imminently” but also warned its finances were severely stretched. “In the unlikely event” the deal failed, Silverjet said it would “have to source alternative means of funding as a matter of urgency”.

INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY

Final decision due on EIT home

Poland, Spain, Hungary, and an Austrian-Slovak alliance will find out which one will become the home of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) at the end of this month. The chosen area will also hope to gain fresh investment, as well as boost its high-tech industry credentials. The short-list is: Wroclaw in Poland; Sant Cugat del Vallés, near Barcelona; Budapest; and a joint application by Vienna and Bratislava. Candidates have been trumpeting their record of innovation and academic success. The Austro-Slovak pitch states that Vienna has the most students in Europe. Budapest has highlighted that Hungarians were behind inventions such as the ballpoint pen and lead-free petrol. Sant Cugat del Vallés bills itself as a “place where tradition meets innovation and quality of life”. Wroclaw says that it is home to 9,000 teachers.

RAILWAYS

More passengers use Eurostar

The number of people using Eurostar’s rail services has gone up by more than a fifth this year, the firm has revealed. According to figures from the train operator, passenger numbers during the first quarter of 2008 were 21.3% higher than during the same period of 2007. This was said to be partly due to the opening of a multimillion-euro high-speed rail link between London and Paris, which allows passage from one city to the other in just two hours and 15 minutes. Commenting on the increase, Eurostar CEO Richard Brown said that the move towards rail travel shows that consumers are increasingly opting to use more eco-friendly means of going abroad. Meanwhile, ShelterOffshore.com credited Eurostar with helping to boost interest in the French property market among British investors. According to the website, the reduced journey time has led to more and more people in the UK looking at buying a house in France.

TELECOMS

Sony Ericsson gets Flash

Sony Ericsson hopes to kick-start a new generation of mobile phone applications with a new mobile phone development environment called Project Capuchin, which enables Java Microsoft Explorer applications to use Adobe Flash Lite for animation or as a front-end to the application itself. What all this tech-talk actually translates to is a slick interface to an social networking service, while using Java’s capabilities to tap into Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and even e-commerce functions that would normally be inaccessible to Flash applications. The mobile phone company was overdue some cheer. In late April it reported that its net income has tumbled €254m to €133m. The company has blamed slowing growth in Europe and North America for the fall.

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