Henry Harteveldt travel tips

This is a developing story and will be updated with more information.

"And the sexiest new nonstop route of the year is ... "

Corporate travel could get complicated: Expedia Group has a big stake in Amex Global Business Travel. Booking.com is partners with CWT. What happens to those relationships if the merger between Amex GBT and CWT goes through? Amex GBT CEO Paul Abbott specifically noted CWT’s ties to Booking.com for Business as an upside to the deal as it tries to reach more small businesses customers.

Alaska Airlines just launched an unusual new subscription service that is going to require a $5-per-month payment to get early access to Alaska fare sales and a bit more. The Seattle-based airline is calling it "Alaska Access" and is saying it gives advanced alerts to some of its biggest sales of the year.

Customers may soon feel the impact of the Boeing 737 Max blowout as airlines face uncertainty about their future fleets.

It's a giant banking merger that would create the nation's sixth-largest bank and have potentially significant implications for your credit cards. Capital One this week said it would purchase Discover Financial Services in an all-stock deal that would be worth some $35 billion. It would create the new largest credit card issuer in the world.

Window or aisle? It's an age-old frequent flyer debate that's as divisive as walking into a room and declaring that "Toy Story 3" is mediocre (I'll die on this hill) or that Beyonce is, in fact, way better than Taylor Swift (Queen Bey for the win).

Spirit Airlines is adding 10 new flights out of Boston-Logan, which can be looked at in two ways. It's a step back toward profitability for the airline, which many thought might go bankrupt in the wake of the ruling by the federal judge that blocked a merger with JetBlue Airways.

On a recent Thursday morning in Queens, travelers streamed through the exterior doors of La Guardia Airport’s Terminal C. Some were bleary-eyed — most hefted briefcases — as they checked bags and made their way to the security screening lines.

Spirit Airlines was once a golden child of the airline industry. But now that a judge has blocked its proposed merger with JetBlue, Spirit is on its own to deal with declining revenues and rising operating costs. 

The recent news that Dutch carrier Corendon Airlines has started offering adult-only areas on its flights garnered widespread media attention around the world.  Rightly so, as it seems that passengers have long been crying out for this service according to an article published in the Spectator that was based on a survey from PhotoAID.

Reaching status with an airline loyalty program may feel more difficult in 2024, as airlines opt to incentivize passengers willing to spend more.

It was a year that was to mark the post-pandemic recovery of travel, bringing economic relief to local communities that had been hit hard by the prolonged loss of tourism revenue. Borders fully reopened, pandemic restrictions were lifted and traveler bookings surged, sparking a social media trend called “revenge travel.” But even as demand in 2023 reached near 2019 levels — with an estimated 975 million tourists traveling internationally between January and September, according to the World Tourism Organization — a series of disasters, upheavals and unparalleled weather events devastated destinations across the globe.

Seattle-based Alaska Airlines recently announced it plans to buy Hawaiian Airlines for the sum of about $1.9 billion—a historic deal that, if finalized, could create both benefits and setbacks for the flying public.

Online travel agencies like Expedia, Kayak and Hotels.com are prevalent in the travel industry. While you might not be familiar with the term OTA, you have likely used one to make a reservation. These websites have user-friendly websites, offer competitive prices and allow you to compare multiple flight, hotel and rental car options in one place.

On a recent trip to the Caribbean island of Antigua, Melissa Middlestadt, a writer from the Toronto area, was charged a $12-a-night resort fee by the all-inclusive Jolly Beach. She was told it covered the use of nonmotorized water-sports equipment and Wi-Fi.

As a traveler who prefers the off-season for its more affordable prices and fewer visitors, I try not to fly in July and August, at least in the Northern Hemisphere. I wait until fall when rates for flights and hotels normally plunge and crowds shrink.

When European low-cost Corendon Airlines announced on August 23 that it would reserve the front rows of its Amsterdam-Curação flights for passengers 16-years-old or older, the news resurfaced the age-old debate about how to balance the needs of traveling families with those who are flying without kids.

As a way to combat the seemingly intractable problem of lounge overcrowding, Delta Air Lines confirmed to TPG that more access restrictions are coming. While we don't yet have all the details, Delta said changes were on the way.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, February 1. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

U.S. hotel operators are expected to post a rise in first-quarter profit even as they pour in money to lure travelers to make bookings directly through their websites, instead of turning to travel agencies.