Skift Power Rankings: Pete Buttigieg

One of the nation’s biggest airports is about to get a boost from the United States government.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, September 6, 2024, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

The Department of Transportation officially launched an inquiry Thursday into whether the loyalty programs of the four largest U.S. airlines have engaged in unfair, deceptive or noncompetitive practices.

The Transportation Department announced on Thursday that it was investigating the rewards programs of the country’s four biggest airlines, part of the agency’s continuing efforts to bolster protections for air travelers.

As president of STR, Amanda Hite oversees the hospitality division of parent company CoStar, and her 290-person team produces the hospitality sector’s most widely read benchmarking reports.

Jonathan Gray is a heavyweight in finance. He’s the chief operating officer of Blackstone, the largest private equity firm in the world, which manages over $1 trillion in assets. Gray is also widely seen as a successor to the firm’s CEO Stephen Schwarzman. 

In an industry often criticized for sluggishness, Sébastien Bazin is known for moving fast. Bazin spent much of his early career as a financier at investment banks and private equity firms rather than rising through the ranks of a hotel company.

Ariane Gorin, who took the reins as Expedia Group CEO in May, is trying to make the company more global. Gorin, who’s been a member of the Expedia Group senior leadership committee since 2015 and previously headed Expedia for Business, is well-positioned for the international challenge.

Brad Gerstner founded Altimeter Capital in 2008, and his first trade was for Priceline at $50 per share. Now known as Booking Holdings, the company trades at around $3,440, and has a market cap of $115 billion.

Whether it’s his strong stance on ultra-low-cost carriers or his brutally honest criticism on the current state of Boeing, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has become one of the most influential — and candid — voices in the airline industry. 

Sundar Pichai is CEO of one of the largest and most powerful companies in the world: Google. The company’s growing Flights, Hotels, Vacation Rentals, Maps, and other businesses have made the tech giant a powerhouse in travel as well. 

Christopher Nassetta, a Virginia native with a shock of salt-and-pepper hair, has the air of a senior industry statesman. Since taking the reins at Hilton Worldwide in 2007, Nassetta has orchestrated a dramatic turnaround in the hotel group’s fortunes while also advocating on behalf of the whole travel industry at the governmental level.