Hope for new air link to improve Alderney tourism
An Alderney hotelier hopes new air links will boost tourism across the Channel Islands and France.
Airline Finistair is trialling flights every Friday and Sunday linking Alderney, Jersey and Brest until the end of August as part of an agreement between the governments of Jersey and Alderney.
The chief executive Loïc Andro said he hoped the new route would continue if the trial was successful.
Hotelier Tracey Farquhar-Beck said that despite being so close together, it was difficult to travel between the islands.
She said: "Before both the plane and the boat, people had to go via Guernsey and to be quite honest it was cost-prohibitive for most people."
Ms Farquhar-Beck said she hoped the trial would be a success.
She said: "We'd like to see it as a year-round feature, whether the demand would be there or not.
"It gives people more options and opens Alderney to new visitors, especially from Jersey and France."
More news stories for Jersey
Listen to the latest news for Jersey
Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.
French airline boss hopes new routes here to stay
Summer flights offer better French connection
Aurigny and Emirates in long-haul flights deal
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
30 minutes ago
- Forbes
Stellantis Future Looks Positive After Capacity And Brand Cuts
Fiat Grande Panda battery electric compact car (Photo by Sjoerd van) Getty Images Stellantis, troubled owner of brands including Jeep, Chrysler, Peugeot, Alfa Romeo and Maserati, has lost about 55% of its stock market value over the past year. But with new leadership, some analysts believe the only way is up, despite some challenges which might require plant closures and the elimination of brands. Since the demise of former CEO Carlos Tavares and the assumption of Antonio Filosa there has been no shortage of rumours about strategy. Reports Stellantis would merge with Renault were denied. Storied but problematic luxury Italian sports carmaker Maserati is not for sale; yet. A year ago, the Stellantis share price was around €19. It closed near €8.50 June 30, according to Reuters data. Dynamic Chinese newcomers like Chery Automobile and BYD are said to be looking at buying brands like Chrysler. As trading conditions toughen in Europe and U.S. tariffs worry everyone, some factories might be closed, or some of the 14 brands eliminated. Stellantis was created in 2019 by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group. Stellantis's financial numbers have been under pressure. Operating profit margin in 2024 was 5.5%, down sharply from 2023's 12.8%. Last year, industrial cash flow was a negative €6 billion ($6.8 billion) compared with 2023's positive €12.9 billion ($14.6 billion). In 2021, former CEO Tavares gave the 14 brands, 10 years to justify their existence. That deadline has certainly been shortened, although new CEO Filosa hasn't officially decided yet. In Europe, the mass-market brands - Citroen, Peugeot, Fiat, Lancia, Vauxhall, Opel - compete against each other. DS, Alfa Romeo and Abarth sit in the wannabe premium sector. In the U.S., there is Dodge, Ram, Jeep and Chrysler. Overall, Maserati sits atop of the list. In late June, Filosa talked about the Stellantis long-term strategic plan without adding any details. The plan adopted in 2022 aimed to double sales by the end of the decade and maintain double-digit operating margins. Some aspects of the plan have been overtaken by events, such as the aim for 100% of sales in Europe to be electric by 2030, and 50% in the U.S. Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. Photo taken in Telluride, Colorado. getty Moody's Ratings pointed to the underlying strength of Stellantis when it changed its outlook to 'stable' from 'negative' and said the company's strong cash balances were an important buffer in the current volatile and challenging market environment. Investment researcher Jefferies put it this way in a report entitled 'Jump-starting Stellantis – Upgrade to Buy'. Earnings slide about to turn 'Data suggests the earnings slide is about to turn. A new CEO can move fast on overdue decisions, from brands to footprint and technology. Autos look more challenged than ever, but many Stellantis operating issues are self-inflicted and fixable,' Jefferies said. 'Stellantis and predecessors never shied away from bold and creative capital allocation decisions. Restructuring costs are material but manageable. Gaining investor trust may take time,' the report said. A 2025 Maserati MC20 GT2 Stradale Photographer: Bing Guan/Bloomberg © 2025 Bloomberg Finance LP Jamel Taganza, vice-president of French automotive consultancy Inovev, said Stellantis sales in 2024 fell 12%, and a further 10% in the first four months of 2025. Many Stellantis factories are running at a slow pace and suffering from significant overcapacity. Its policy has been to keep factories open. 'Given these elements, the Stellantis Group will most likely be forced to implement a policy that breaks with the previous year's objectives, aided in this by the arrival of the new CEO. This could result in factory closures and brand purging. On the other hand, Stellantis could relaunch thermal and hybrid engines, and abandon a fully battery electric range, with the hope of a postponement of the 2035 (European Union) ban on thermal vehicles,' Taganza said in a report. Maserati future in question Taganza said DS, Lancia and Maserati have questionable futures. He doesn't expect any interest from the likes of BYD or Chery though. Meanwhile, Stellantis has bought a 21% stake in Leapmotor of China. Leapmotor initially was expected to assemble small cars like the TO3 in Poland. This plan stumbled because of import tariff complications. Leapmotor is currently sourcing its vehicles from outside Europe. Whatever changes are made to brand strategy, Taganza expects Stellantis to retain its position in Europe as the second biggest automaker in terms of sales, behind Volkswagen. 'We do not see major changes in the five coming years for Stellantis, in terms of position in the European market. They should still be the second group in Europe, despite the advance of Chinese carmakers. Chrysler 300 getty It will follow the trend of the European market without any big surprises,' Taganza said in an email. Chester Springs, Pennsylvania-based Auto Forecast Solutions analyst Sam Fiorani agrees action is urgent and expects a plan to do that in a couple of years. 'Keeping Ram, Jeep and Peugeot are the easiest decisions. Global growth of Ram and Jeep make them very important, especially with the revenue and profits generated by the entire range of models. Peugeot ranks as the sixth most popular brand in Europe and remains important in other global regions,' Fiorani said in a report. Consolidation by the end of the decade The future of other brands is less obvious, but consolidation among the mainstream brands is likely before the end of the decade. 'Fiat ranks as the automaker's second largest brand and remains popular in South America and, of course, Italy. Citroen and Opel/Vauxhall combine for about 1.8 million units by offering a similar range of vehicles primarily for different European markets, but with their own style and marketing; the three should be consolidated into one marketing group,' Fiorani said. Fiorani sees a huge task ahead for the new CEO, and like Inovev's Taganza, a healthy outcome. That's quite a prediction, given the burgeoning challenge from China. 'Antonio Filosa has a monumental task ahead. Plants will need to be closed, workforce reduced, even brands eliminated. Done with proper attention, the automaker should be able to retain most of its current global market share,' Fiorani said.
CNN
33 minutes ago
- CNN
France leads Europe in saying au revoir to beach and park smoking
This summer in Paris, a sunset cigarette under the Eiffel Tower could come with an unexpected price tag. Starting July 1, France has banned smoking in all outdoor areas frequented by children — including parks, beaches, public gardens, bus stops, school entrances, and sports venues. The sweeping measure is part of President Emmanuel Macron's pledge to create 'the first tobacco-free generation' by 2032. Lighting up in these zones could cost smokers more than a dirty look from a passerby. Those who break the rules — including unsuspecting tourists — face a fine of 90 euros if they pay within 15 days, going up to 135 euros (around $150) after that. 'France is positioning itself as one of Europe's most proactive countries in terms of tobacco control,' Raquel Venâncio, senior policy officer at Smoke Free Partnership, a coalition of European tobacco control advocacy groups, told CNN. While countries like Spain and Italy have introduced restrictions on smoking in certain areas at local or regional levels, France stands out as the only European country to enforce a nationwide ban against beach smoking. But not all citizens support the new measure. 'The more time goes by, the more the government wants to take away our basic freedoms,' Elise Levaux, a 25-year-old student in Paris, told CNN. 'If you're being respectful — not throwing away cigarette butts in a park or beach, not disturbing others — I don't see the problem. Why should smoking suddenly be treated like a crime?' The restrictions are undoubtedly a major shift in a country long synonymous with cigarette culture. From Brigitte Bardot to Charles de Gaulle, French icons were rarely seen without a Gauloises — the archetypal French brand — in hand. 'France's intellectual circles and cinematic culture have normalized cigarettes for generations,' Venâncio observed. 'For decades, there was no political will to ban smoking.' But the national relationship with tobacco is changing. Smoking in France is at its lowest level since the 1990s, the National Committee against Tobacco (CNCT) reports. Today, around a third of adults in France smoke, with 23% of the adult population saying they smoke daily, according to a 2024 report from the French national public health agency. Tobacco use is declining among young people, with only 16% of 17-year-olds reporting they smoke daily in 2022, the most recent data available — down from 25% six years prior. Still, France remains one of Europe's most tobacco-dependent countries, fueled in part by what officials have called an 'explosion' in cigarette smuggling, largely from Bulgaria, Turkey, and Algeria. In 2024 alone, France consumed an estimated 18.7 billion illicit cigarettes, according to a KPMG study carried out for tobacco giant Philip Morris — accounting for a staggering 38% of tobacco use and making it the largest illicit tobacco market in Europe. Most regular smokers begin in their teenage years, with nearly 90% of them picking up the habit before turning 18, according to the Ministry of Health. 'I've been smoking since I was 14,' said Jane, 25, who declined to give her last name. 'Most of my friends started just as young. Fine or no fine, we're going to continue smoking. It's part of the French identity — we fight for what we want. We're not robots.' In a statement shared with CNN, Minister of Health Catherine Vautrin said that 'protecting youth and denormalizing smoking' is an 'absolute priority' for the government. 'At 17, you should be building your future, not your addiction,' she said. 'Where there are children, tobacco must disappear.' Unlike Belgium and the United Kingdom, which recently prohibited the sale of disposable vapes, France's new rules do not ban e-cigarettes — at least for now. The new regulations do, however, include a reduction in authorized nicotine levels in vaping products, as well as strict limits on flavors like cotton candy, which critics say are designed to appeal to young people. 'These products serve as gateways to addiction and will be regulated, starting in 2026,' Vautrin said. Tobacco use remains the leading preventable health risk in the European Union, causing nearly 700,000 premature deaths each year, according to EU figures. In France alone, it accounts for 75,000 deaths each year — equivalent to 200 deaths per day, according to the country's health ministry. Beyond the direct toll on smokers and those around them, tobacco products also pose an environmental hazard. An estimated 20,000 to 25,000 tons of cigarette butts are discarded across France each year, according to the Ministry of Health. France banned the sale of cigarettes to minors under 18 in 2009. But enforcement has been lax: a study by the National Committee against Tobacco (CNCT) found that nearly two-thirds of tobacco shops continue to sell cigarettes to underage customers. And while minors are prohibited from buying tobacco, no law prevents them from smoking — a legal loophole that the government has promised to address in future legislation. In contrast to Sweden — the only European country to have fully banned smoking on restaurant and bar terraces — France continues to permit smoking in these spaces. Even the UK, which has some of Europe's strictest anti-smoking policies, allows smoking in pub gardens. 'We've been trying to push for a ban on terrace smoking for almost a decade, but it's very challenging,' Amélie Eschenbrenner, spokeswoman for the French National Committee for Tobacco Control (CNCT), told CNN. 'Having a cigarette with a glass of wine — it's an integral part of French culture.' But tradition isn't the only barrier. According to Eschenbrenner, the main obstacle to banning terrace smoking is lobbying by the tobacco industry. France has almost 23,000 licensed tabacs — tobacco shops that occupy the corners of many urban streets. A CNCT study found that tobacconists enjoy a level of popular support comparable to that of public health agencies. 'They use their popularity to sway decision-makers, especially parliamentarians,' Eschenbrenner explained. 'That's why enforcing a widespread ban is so difficult.' CNN approached a dozen tobacconists in Paris seeking their view on the new law, but none wanted to speak. Still, change may be on the horizon. 'In 2007, when France enforced a ban on smoking inside restaurants, bars and nightclubs, there was a lot of push-back,' Eschenbrenner recalled. 'But over time, people got used to it and accepted it. The same is likely to happen with these new regulations — and, hopefully, with a future ban on terrace smoking.' As part of its strategy to reduce cancer rates, the European Commission aims to reduce tobacco use to less than 5% of the EU population by 2040. In the same vein, France's government has indicated that the latest restrictions may be the first step in a wider crackdown on tobacco. 'Tobacco is poison,' said Vautrin. 'It kills, it costs, it pollutes. I refuse to give up the fight. Every day without tobacco is a life gained. Our goal is clear: a tobacco-free generation — and we have the means to achieve it.'
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Europe's IPO Bankers Pin Hopes on Fall Window as Revival Falters
After the slowest first half for European initial public offerings in more than a decade, dealmakers are banking on several large transactions to reignite the market later this year. IPOs in the region have raised roughly $5.52 billion so far in 2025, a 60% decline from a year ago, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Turmoil unleashed by President Donald Trump's tariffs froze the market for weeks, and while some firms have since launched offerings, others deferred or canceled debuts.
