Planet DMC

In December 2018 the Saudi budget airline, Flyadeal, signed a deal with Boeing worth up to $6bn for 30 of the latest version of the 737 – with an option for 20 more. But the airline has switched the order to Boeing’s rival, Airbus, with a new agreement for the the same number of A320 Neo aircraft.Simon Calder (The Independent)

Ryanair’s fares fell by 6 per cent in the year to March 2019, leading to a slump of 29 per cent in the airline’s profits. But with full-year profits of over €1bn (£880m), Europe’s biggest budget airline remains in far better shape than many of its rivals. Last year, the carrier’s average one-way fare was €37 (£32), down 6 per cent. Passenger numbers grew by 7 per cent to 139 million, representing a profit per passenger of £6.33. Non-fuel costs rose by 5 per cent, largely due to an increase in salaries – particularly for pilots.Simon Calder (The Independent)

I’m in La Plagne – a ski resort in the French Alps which, until now, has catered mostly to the family market. But this winter, it’s upping its appeal to millennial visitors with a new concept in hostel accommodation, ho36. With beds from €18 a night, the option to self-cater and cheap beers at the bar (pale ale from €2.90), you can save on accommodation and spend most of your holiday budget on Instagrammable experiences, like sunrise ski touring, instead.Lucy Grewcock (The Independent)

Airbus has announced it will end production of the world’s biggest passenger plane, the A380 “SuperJumbo” model, by 2021. The admission of long-term failure comes after Emirates, the largest customer of the A380, reduced its order from 162 to 123 aircraft. The Dubai-based airline has opted to take smaller A330 and A350 jets instead.Simon Calder (The Independent)

It’s thought that automatic train operation (ATO) will increasingly replace human drivers in China after it was successfully rolled out on two intercity lines in the Pearl River Delta region. These trains run at a maximum speed of 200kph; the new Fuxing trains, which debuted on the Beijing-Shanghai line in June 2017, can travel at up to 350kph. For the first 10 years of the high-speed ATO trains, an attendant will still be deployed on board to ensure nothing goes wrong. After that, the trains will be totally driverless.Helen Coffey (The Independent)

Due to the continuous negative events all our lessors, creditors and authorities have been monitoring the situation even closer and demanding stricter payment terms then before further putting pressure on our cash flow. As a result, our Q4 results are materially worse than originally anticipated.Skuli Mogensen (Wow Air)

The airline says that average fares have fallen by 3 per cent due to excess capacity in Europe. It also blames strikes and staff shortages at air traffic control (ATC) centres, “which caused a spike in cancellations of higher fare, weekend flights”.Simon Calder (The Independent)

The limitations of relying on review websites has been highlighted by high profile stories of a shed being ranked one of the best restaurants in London and a plastic tunnel at a supermarket being listed as the most popular attraction in the Cornish town of Bude.ABTA

The money accumulated by the new tax will be spent on tourist amenities including car parks, toilets and walking track maintenance, and conservation projects such as native planting, breeding programmes and predator eradication. It is expected to raise up to NZ$80 million (£42 million) a year for these projects.Freya Ellingsen (The Independent)

Boeing says it hopes to have the aircraft in service by the late 2030s at the earliest, but warned the project could potentially take a decade longer.Tom Barnes (The Independent)