Delta Air Lines and United Airlines were ordered by a federal judge to face a consumer antitrust class action accusing major U.S. carriers of conspiring to drive up domestic airfares by reducing the number of available seats.
25.08.2023 - 14:34 / skift.com / Dawit Habtemariam / European Commission
Passengers may soon be able to make phone calls on flights in the European Union thanks to a recent ruling by the European Commission. The ruling is one of two that would allow airlines and other transportation providers to provide the latest internet connection service on their trips.
Still to be determined is how passengers would react to being forced to listen to fellow passengers converse in-flight on their phones without much freedom to leave the area. In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commissions has barred phone calls on planes since 1991 out of fear that they could interfere with flight operations.
Some airlines in the Middle East and Asia already allow passengers to make voice calls during flights.
But a 2019 CNN story captured the other side of the argument.
“Pretty much across the board, people who work in airplane cabins say the idea of allowing passengers unfettered in-flight phone use would lead to chaos, conflict and downright craziness in flight,” the CNN story said. “As such, they oppose phone use vociferously.”
Under the new rule, airlines in the European Union will be able use the latest 5G technology on their planes. Since 2019, 5G has been the latest generation technology standard for broadband mobile networks and offers faster internet speed and connectivity. With the technology, passengers may no longer have to put their mobile phones on airplane mode and can use their phones to their fullest capacity, using a wider range of services that would approach matching their experience on the ground.
EU officials expect the change will support a more innovative environment for businesses. “5G will enable innovative services for people and growth opportunities for European companies,” said EU Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton. There’s not been clarity as to how member states will make these opportunities happen.
The EU Commission also amended a decision on 5GHz frequency bands, which makes such bands available for Wi-Fi on the road in cars and buses. “The amending decision lays the foundation for innovations in the automotive industry and potentially for Metaverse applications,” the EU Commission said in its published ruling.
EU member states have until June 2023 to make 5GHz frequency bands available for vehicles.
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Delta Air Lines and United Airlines were ordered by a federal judge to face a consumer antitrust class action accusing major U.S. carriers of conspiring to drive up domestic airfares by reducing the number of available seats.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jeff Farschman, a 74-year-old retiree who lives in Dover, Delaware. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
It will soon be harder to find a vacation rental in New York City.
Traditionally, Alaska cruises have been seven days in length—either a weeklong loop of the Inside Passage roundtrip from Seattle or Vancouver, or a similar transit across the Gulf of Alaska sailing one way between Vancouver and Seward or Whittier.
Early on a Sunday morning in July, two brothers from Boston sat on Reykjavik’s rocky coast, with their faces turned toward the chilly waters of the bay and their feet soaking in what felt like a warm bath. Ben and Lucas Zheng had landed around 4:30 a.m. at Iceland’s international airport, and didn’t have too many early-morning options for how to spend the start of their eight-hour layover before flying on to Venice. So, taking advantage of the season’s round-the-clock daylight, they walked 40 minutes from the city center toward the northwestern tip of the Seltjarnarnes peninsula. There on the stony beach, they rolled up their pants and sat for a couple of hours, their legs submerged in the naturally warm Kvika pool, which, at 12 inches deep, is more foot bath than hot tub.
Skift has looked into the hurdles that several major U.S. cities face in trying to boost tourism — San Francisco and Portland are just two examples.
The European Commission is set to block Booking Holdings’ $1.8 billion deal to acquire Sweden’s eTraveli Group, a critically important transaction that’s been in limbo for nearly two years.
Flight prices have been all over the place this past year.
Nicosia, with a total of 47 points, ranked third among the best European cities for those looking for a more digital nomad lifestyle
Raluca Marian, the IRU Director of EU Advocacy, emphasized the necessity of an EU initiative to establish a well-functioning MDMS ticketing system.
Italy has suspended its golden visa programme for Russian and Belarusian citizens, the country’s Business Ministry has announced on its website.
No, you weren’t just imagining your social media timelines full of all your friends posting from Istanbul and Turkey this summer. It happened to be true.