Glen Hauenstein travel tips

Some Seattle fliers are switching their trips to Delta Air Lines as hometown carrier Alaska Airlines’ schedule takes a hit from the latest Boeing 737 Max grounding.

Six decades after hosting the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics — when Japan rapidly rolled out new infrastructure like its Shinkansen bullet train and accommodations like Hotel New Otani Tokyo to welcome the anticipated influx of foreigners — the country remains one of the most beloved leisure destinations in the world. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, 17.78 million foreign visitors arrived in the first half of 2024, breaking 2019's previous record of 16.63 million. And there are no signs of a slowdown: Japan aims to nearly double 2019's end-of-year record of 31.88 million tourists to a staggering 60 million annually by 2030.

While athletes from around the world will flock to Paris later this month to go for gold at the Summer Olympics, this doesn't mean travelers are following suit and heading to the City of Light.

Delta Air Lines' premium cabins could be ripe for "unbundling" — the airline industry trend that's seen passengers increasingly paying for services once included in the price of a ticket.

Despite a record number of people traveling this summer, Delta — one of the most profitable U.S. airlines — fell short of Wall Street expectations. 

With each summer holiday, airlines are continuing to see record travel trends. 

If last week was one American Airlines would rather forget, consider 2024 the year Delta Air Lines never wants to end.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, May 17. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Since the pandemic, airlines have reported record results quarter after quarter. International and premium travel have been the main drivers. But in the most recent quarter, airlines got a big boost from a segment many thought was long gone: business travel. 

Delta Air Lines is forecasting another busy summer travel season, buoyed by a sustained demand for leisure travel — not to mention a far more robust business travel sector that's been slow to improve in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

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As the airline industry grapples with delayed aircraft orders and rising operating costs, Delta Air Lines has stayed above the fray. 

A Delta Air Lines passenger who says she was escorted off a flight for not wearing a bra is calling on the carrier to change its policy.

Every March and April, thousands of college students descend upon beaches in Florida, Mexico or sometimes even the Caribbean. 

Business travel has lagged leisure throughout the pandemic recovery as corporate road warriors – and their finance chiefs – grew content with video calls and sporadic trips into offices. 

Demand for travel has shown no signs of slowing down since the pandemic, but American Airlines is underperforming when stacked up against its competitors. 

The spotlight is on Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. But Delta Air Lines had some interesting things to say last week as well.

Delta Air Lines is already bringing artificial intelligence into its operations. At an investor conference Wednesday, Delta executives said that they started experimenting with AI in the past month for its reservations team and to determine pricing. 

Delta Air Lines hit a nerve with loyal fliers, arguably its most important customer bases, when it upended elite status qualification in its SkyMiles loyalty program last month. Customers provided the carrier with ample feedback of what CEO Ed Bastian described as a “360 [degree] view” of the controversial changes.

Delta and Southwest sought to reassure investors Thursday, following negative commentary from several airlines earlier in the week. All of them are confronting a spike in fuel prices, with labor and other costs up as well. And that’s going to hit the bottom line – though some will be impacted more than others.

Delta Air Lines just made a change that many frequent travelers will undoubtedly appreciate.