Mexico was the most booked destination for spring break travel by Americans, according to an analysis of flight data by ForwardKeys.
29.02.2024 - 11:31 / skift.com / Dennis Schaal / Rashaad Jorden / Sean Oneill / Michael Whitaker
Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, February 29. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel.
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Gilda Perez-Alvarado surprised some hotel industry insiders when she left JLL to become Accor’s chief strategy officer last October. Perez-Alvarado outlined her plans for Accor in her first interview since taking the new role.
Perez-Alvarado touched on Accor’s efforts to make inroads in the U.S., among other subjects, with Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill. She said Accor would target markets and segments in the country where the company believes it should be present. Perez-Alvarado added that Accor would be increasingly open to dealmaking with interest rates stabilizing.
Next, the Federal Aviation Administration told Boeing it has 90 days to create a plan to tackle its quality control issues, writes Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi.
FAA chief Michael Whitaker revealed the timeline after the agency had an all-day discussion with the planemaker. Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft has been plagued with a litany of issues, including a blowout aboard an Alaska Airlines flight this January. Whitaker said he expects the plan to take into account the latest results from the FAA’s audit of Boeing’s production processes.
Finally, Vacasa’s workforce is undergoing major changes again. The company announced it is laying off 320 employees while Chief Operating Officer John Banczak is leaving the vacation rental operator, reports Executive Editor Dennis Schaal.
Schaal writes Vacasa’s latest round of layoffs, which represent 5% of the company’s overall workforce, will cost it between $4 million and $5 million. Meanwhile, Banczak will stay on in his current role through March 31. Vacasa said his departure as chief operating officer isn’t the result of any disagreements between him and the company.
Mexico was the most booked destination for spring break travel by Americans, according to an analysis of flight data by ForwardKeys.
The W New Orleans - French Quarter debuts its 97 newly renovated guest rooms and carriage houses as it finishes its multi-million dollar renovation, led by Canadian design firm Chapi Chapo Design.
It’s a catch-22 that so many travelers bemoan: Summer is the most convenient time to travel thanks to good weather and plenty of federal holidays to extend that vacation. But summer holidays—like Memorial Day Weekend, Juneteenth, Fourth of July, and Labor Day Weekend—are among the most expensive days of the year to fly, leading many would-be-tourists to just stay home.
Alice Mansergh is spending St. Patrick’s Day 2024 in Washington, D.C., to participate in a longtime tradition. It involves delegates from Ireland presenting the current U.S. president with a bowl of shamrocks to mark this Irish holiday.
The travel industry considers the months following the peak winter and summer periods as “shoulder season.” (If you think of high season as the head, the months on either side are the shoulders. Just go with the metaphor.) And it has long been considered among the best times to get away as crowds are thinner and the rates are lower. From Macchu Pichu to Morocco, here are seven great destinations for shoulder season.
Airports serve as gateways to discovering new destinations, and often play an outsized role in our first impressions of a place. But even within the same city, all airports are not created equal—let alone airports across the entire continent of North America.
There is no better city to start and end a cruise with than New Orleans! Visitors may be headed to sandy beaches in foreign lands or neighboring cities along the Mississippi River, but they can get a head start on vacation time with cool jazz, celebrated cuisine, historic architecture, and much more in this port city.
American Airlines is introducing a new fleet of planes at its New York hub.The carrier will add the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner at John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to a report from The Points Guy. The publication identified the airline’s plans through Cirium schedules, and subsequently confirmed the news with an airline spokespersonThe new 285-seat plans will be serving American’s New York to New Delhi route beginning October 27. The new plan will replace Boeing 777-300ER aircraft currently flying between New York and New Delhi.American Airlines plans to add several Dreamliners to its New York-based fleet in conjunction with expanding the number of pilots it has operating from New York.“This weekend, American Airlines adjusted the aircraft type operating between New York (JFK) and New Delhi (DEL) starting in October. We will continue to offer daily nonstop service on this route as we optimize our network and fleet,” an airline spokesperson told The Points Guy in a statement.About 30 Dreamliners will be added to American Airline’s stable of planes over the coming years, according to The Points Guy. The first Dreamliner anticipated to come online later this year. The planes contain 51 Flagship Business suites, 32 premium economy seats, 18 Main Cabin Extra economy seats and 143 standard economy seats.
American photographer Keisha Scarville is the winner of the Saltzman Prize, a new award for the best Emerging Photographer in the world. This annual prize is a $10,000 award and additional funds to support a solo exhibition of the winning photographer’s work at Photofairs New York each September. The Saltzman Prize is presented in cooperation with the Center for Photography Woodstock (CPW) and Photofairs New York. The winner will also be honored on 20 April 2024 at the CPW Vision Awards.
This spring break, travelers may want to pack sunscreen, sunglasses, and lots of patience. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently shared guidance that they predict a six percent increase in passenger screenings for this spring break season, versus the same time in 2023. If those estimates hold true, this would be one of the busiest spring break ever. “TSA screened a record number of passengers in 2023, and we expect that trend to continue this year,” the TSA’s Administrator David Pekoske said in a news release. For travelers navigating airports, the TSA says the busiest travel days will be between March 7 and March 25.
I typically start to think about spring cocktails in the depths of winter. And let me tell you: It’s a wonderful little project to be working on. There’s no better way to spend the bleak, dark months of January than taking some time in the kitchen to tinker with bright and buoyant cocktail recipes that remind you of warmer times ahead: longer days, spring produce, flowers, and all that fun stuff. It’s certainly a lot more fun than participating in Dry January—or as I like to call it, thirty-one days of misery.
Train lovers everywhere wait all year for Hudson River Rail's annual excursions that allow passengers to relive the historic splendor of the 20th Century Limited express passenger train, once billed as the “most famous train in the world.” The popular rail journeys sell out every year—and last year, tickets were snapped up in minutes.