Next year the country will gather thought-leaders, explorers, and members of the media for an unforgettable event
25.08.2023 - 14:43 / skift.com / Edward Russell / Carley Thornell
Good morning from Skift. It’s Monday, November 7. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
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Airlines in Latin America were struggling heavily before the pandemic. The industry had racked up a combined $2.2 billion in losses from 2015 through 2019. Then when the pandemic hit and revenues dried up because there were more cancellations than new reservations, the cash crunch crisis proved the breaking point for many carriers that would eventually file for bankruptcy.
Fast forward to today and Latin America is emerging as the most dynamic region in the global airline industry, a market through history that has been subject to the varying political and economic instabilities from country to country, writes Edward Russell, editor of Airline Weekly, a Skift brand, in his new Deep Dive story.
Today billions of dollars in fresh investment, including from a slew of new investors, is pouring in. Consolidation is rife. All of this change is creating very real, and new, opportunities for budget airlines and startups alike. The endgame from all this disruption is still unclear, of course, but make no mistake: Latin America is captivating the attention of aviation around the world, Russell concludes.
We turn next to so-called ESG. Many hotel companies pledge to do better on environmental, social, and governance goals. Skift found a few brands whose work on the “E” in ESG deserves an A grade in the eyes of many social media users.
From reinvigorating the site of a former mine to protecting sea turtles and their habitats, several hotel companies are supporting environmental efforts that deliver a bonus — namely, ideal content for social media engagement, writes contributor Carley Thornell.
Hoteliers have recently shared on Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms content portraying verdant panoramas, cute animals, and adorable children immersing themselves in local activities. They said this experiential and sustainability content has been resonating on social media better than average as Thornell highlights through the work at The Datai Langkawi, Fairmont, and Banyan Tree hotels and resorts.
Finally, Airbnb said that the flexible search features it has rolled out since early 2021 have so far diverted bookings from destinations coping with overtourism and peak travel times, according to data it shared on Friday.
The short-term rental booking giant has increasingly offered search tools — see Skift’s earlier coverage: “Airbnb’s Next Big Change: Search” — in response to evidence that many people don’t have a destination or fixed dates in mind when they start researching trips.
Some of Airbnb’s new data points from its first white paper on
Next year the country will gather thought-leaders, explorers, and members of the media for an unforgettable event
Qatar Airways is optimistic about Brazil and the overall Latin American market as part of a global network expansion strategy on the heels of World Cup-driven surge for its business.
Joby Aviation has delayed the introduction of its new electric air taxi by about a year to 2025, as the certification of the new aircraft proceeds slower than hoped. The developer disclosed the delay in a letter to shareholders on Wednesday.
The world’s biggest airline is ready for Thanksgiving, having already battled through several hurricanes in recent months.
Executives from two new airlines, Connect Airlines and Breeze Airways, shared their strategies at the Skift Aviation Forum in Dallas for starting up and pushing forward.
Twelve minutes. That’s all the time it took for the board of directors of Avianca, the second largest airline in Latin America, to set the fate of the carrier and begin a series of sweeping changes to the airline industry in the region.
How Latin America Is the Future of the Airline Industry: No part of the world is seeing as many big changes to the airline business as Latin America. The final shape is still opaque, but one thing is clear for the region’s aviation industry: All eyes are watching closely for how this transformation unfolds.
The inaugural Skift Aviation Forum welcomed Robert Isom, the CEO of American Airlines, as its first speaker at the Statler Hotel in downtown Dallas. During the interview he shared how the world’s biggest airline was prepared for the upcoming Thanksgiving vacation, and already looking ahead to the future with a focus on recruiting and training pilots, and staffing the carrier back up.
While U.S. and European-based online travel agencies fret about the impact of inflation and potentially softer travel demand, Argentina-based Despegar sees a more stable economic climate on its Latin America home turf.
Steven Udvar-Házy, the co-founder and executive chairman of lessor Air Lease Corporation, believes the airline industry will likely see more consolidation, especially in Europe. Udvar-Házy said at the recent Skift Aviation Forum in Dallas that while he doubts the continent’s low-cost carriers will be involved in any mergers, he sees Italy’s ITA and TAP Air Portugal as takeover targets.
American Airlines Chief Customer Officer Alison Taylor is retiring. Her departure will leave the Fort Worth, Texas- based carrier with no C-suite executive whose sole purview is customers.
Colombia’s civil aviation authority, Aerocivil, is taking a new look at the proposed merger of Avianca and Viva Air following what it described as a “substantial irregularity” in its initial review. That process, which concluded in November, rejected the airlines’ combination due to competition concerns.