Travel in city Medford, state Oregon

Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, March 19. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

United Airlines has scrapped plans for a new transatlantic route this summer, just weeks ahead of its maiden flight. The highly unusual decision to cancel the service comes amid an audit of the company by U.S. regulators.

The Federal Aviation Administration is increasing its oversight of United Airlines following a string of safety incidents. 

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby sought to reassure travelers that safety is the carrier’s highest priority following a series of mishaps with its Boeing jets.

Alaska Airlines is expanding flight service from its hub at Portland International Airport (PDX).On Monday, the Seattle-based carrier announced plans to add more than 20 daily departures to popular destinations starting this summer. Alaska, which is in the midst of a potential merger with Hawaiian Airlines, said its capacity has increased by 25 percent.Alaska plans to increase service from PDX to a handful of cities, including Las Vegas, Reno, Sacramento and Ontario, California beginning August 20. Starting October 1, the airline will increase service from PDX to Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Phoenix, Fresno and Medford, Oregon.The carrier will also add a second daily roundtrip flight between Portland and Redmond/Bend on October 1 and has extended nonstop seasonal flying from PDX to Billings, Kansas City and Minneapolis until the end of the year.Alaska currently serves 53 nonstop destinations from Portland, recently launching nonstop service to Miami. Meanwhile, year-round flights to Nashville start on March 14. By summer, the airline will have more than 100 average daily departures from Portland."We've been the largest carrier in Portland for more than 20 years. We don't take that for granted. It's important for us to provide our guests with a variety of convenient flight options at PDX along with the addition of new routes. We know travelers have a choice and we want them to fly with us," Kirsten Amrine, vice president of revenue management and network planning for Alaska Airlines, said in a statement."We're thrilled about the added flights out of PDX," added Dan Pippenger, chief aviation officer at the Port of Portland. "As our largest carrier, more Alaska flights means even more options for travelers, whether they're flying cross-country or within the state. And the increase in service means more visitors for our concession and ground travel partners – the local businesses that are the heart of our region and bring so much excitement to our airport."Contact your travel advisor or visit AlaskaAir.com to book the airline's expanded service from PDX.

If you plan to park your car at an airport for more than a day or two, fees can add up quickly—even at the discounted off-site lots. And even if you don’t leave your car at the airport while you’re gone, your car just sits somewhere being of no use to anybody while someone you don’t know arrives at your hometown airport and rents a car, again for a stiff fee. And maybe you’ll need a car rental at your destination, too.

A new service called Wanderift has launched a new approach to booking air travel. Travelers can join the program for a one-time fee of $500, and then pay $100 to $125 each for up to 50 airfare “tokens” per year. One token can be used for a one-way itinerary anywhere in the lower 48 states and some Caribbean points, but bookings can only be made eight days in advance or fewer.