As the summer travel season comes to a close, one airline is giving travelers a reason to start planning next summer's vacation. Delta Air Lines announced it will be operating its largest trans-Atlantic flight schedule ever, debuting just in time for summer 2024. The airline will be adding new destinations including Naples and bringing back service to Shannon, Ireland. According to Delta, next summer it will operate 260 weekly flights to 18 countries in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). This includes a new flight from JFK to Munich three times a week that will start on April 9, 2024, and a daily nonstop flight to Shannon, Ireland that will begin on May 23, 2024. The carrier will expand its existing service to Italy — it already flies to Milan, Venice, and Rome — with a new daily service to Naples. It will also resume service between Atlanta and Zurich, Switzerland, four times a week, which had originally been cut in 2019.
This Private Jet Broker Grew From The Basement To A Billion Dollars
05.09.2023 - 12:41 / forbes.com
There have been no serial acquisitions and don’t expect any future M&A sprees despite the frenzy of deals in private aviation. There are no plans for an IPO, although a public offering was just a day away during the 2008 Financial Crisis. The product of a father’s wish to ensure his son grew up with more than a passing knowledge of cricket instead of baseball, Surbiton, England-based Air Charter Service will tally its third straight year of billion-dollar revenues with plans to keep doing what has made it successful since Chris Leach founded the company in his basement a few miles from its current headquarters back in 1990.
While about 40% of sales now come from private jet charters, the company’s foundation is built on Leach’s two decades of cargo and group charter experience before he started ACS, as it is referred to. During that time, he has been able to outmaneuver companies “with a story” designed for the public markets. He says his foundational principle is running a business that generates revenues higher than expenses and, if sales dip, he takes an even harder look at the expenses.
Leach admits he was tempted with an IPO once. It was due to be launched as the 2008 Financial Crisis was unfolding. As bankers kept urging him to lower the offer price and value of his company, he decided to pull the deal. He instead gave company stock to every employee, something that he says led to strong growth despite the adverse economic conditions.
ACS prides itself on cultivating homegrown talent. Virtually all of its leadership started as trainees, and in an industry where “there are lots of part-timers,” its brokers go through a month of training at its headquarters just outside London. It even owns apartments to house them during their stay. Leach says his background as a teacher instilled the importance of formal learning instead of the sometimes learn-as-you-go ways of brokers.
Company CEO Justin Bowman is typical of the management team via his multiple decades tenure. He first met Leach while renting a room from him when he was attending university. Back then, Leach’s wife Christine (a non-executive director and former head of administration and legal) answered the phone so it wasn’t apparent the company was operating out of their basement.
Even today with over 450 employees, many senior leaders have had their metal tested under conditions that would make most charter brokers blush. The core business of ACS in the early years was organizing relief missions and evacuations from remote locations around the world. In addition to meticulous planning, there was always a need to improvise, often in countries where you traveled with armed escorts.
Leach says experience dealing with charter flights under fire
NetJets, Textron Announce $30 Billion Private Jet Deal
Textron Aviation this morning announced an agreement that will provide NetJets with up to 1,500 new private jets over the next 15 years. Terms were not disclosed, however, an analysis by Jefferies values the deal at up to $30 billion. It follows a similar agreement with Embraer in May for 250 Praetor 500s valued at $5 billion.
Brazil Reinstates Visa Requirements for Travelers From the US, Canada, and Australia
If you’re heading to Brazil in the new year, there’s an extra step to add to your to-do list. Beginning January 10, travelers from the United States, Canada, and Australia will need to acquire an e-visa in order to enter the country. Until then, citizens of these countries will be able to visit Brazil—for business as well as pleasure, per a press release—without these short-term visitor visas (so long as they are staying for no more than 90 days.)
I find group tours unbearable, so I recently booked a private guide instead. It's the only way I'll do tours now.
When I met Mélissa, the guide I had hired to take me on a food tour of Montreal, she was sitting in a deli, awaiting my arrival.
Marriott Strengthens Expansion Plans in Turkey. Plus: Private Jet Service for Pets
Marriott International announced 13 deal signings in Turkey comprising over 2,000 rooms.
United Is Opening Its Largest Lounge in the World at This U.S. Airport — Here Are the Details
Travelers with access to United’s airport lounges will have a whole new experience the next time they go through Denver International Airport (DEN). The airline is expanding its lounge space at the Mile High City lounge hub by more than 100,000 square feet — the size of two football fields — among other infrastructure improvements set to be complete by 2025.
Can you cure jet lag? Scientists say the answer could be linked to when you eat
It’s the bane of frequent flyers’ lives and an unfortunate feature of long-distance trips for the rest of us, but what if there was something we could do about jet lag?
I flew on Korean Air's Boeing 747 in business from LA to Seoul and the upstairs cabin felt like a private jet
Korean Air is one of the very few airlines in the world still flying the Boeing 747 jumbo jet, despite many other carriers ditching it during the pandemic.
This Low-cost Airline Just Launched a New Route to Paris From the U.S. for Under $300
It will soon be able to fly from the City of Angels to the City of Light. Norse Atlantic Airways, a discount air carrier based in Norway, just announced a new direct route from Los Angeles to Paris starting next year. The flight will begin service on May 1 and operate six times a week, just in time for next year’s summer travel season.
Tampa Bay Hotels See Surge in July and on Track to Another Billion-Dollar Year
Following two flat months, Hillsborough County’s hospitality industry saw a large surge in growth in July according to the latest reports from STR, Inc. July’s hotel revenues were up 13.8% while occupancy increased by 3.4% to 70.4%, average daily rate (ADR) up 11.5% to $143.55 and RevPAR up 15.3% to $101.08. July tourist development tax collections for Hillsborough County, which reflect June collections, came in at $4,347,279, bringing the total collection for the fiscal year to $56,732,408. Total taxable hotel revenue through June has reached more than $900 million for the fiscal year-to-date indicating that Hillsborough County will surpass $1 billion for the second continuous fiscal year.
‘Keep it in your heart’: You could be arrested for taking sand from the beach on this Italian island
A man has been arrested after stealing a huge amount of pebbles from a protected Sardinian beach.
Burning Man Diaries: An Insider Report From The Muddy Chaos of 2023
Nearly 75,000 attendees at this year's Burning Man event were trapped in a major storm in the Nevada desert. With severe flooding, organizers were forced to restrict all traffic in and out of the event, and attendees were urged to shelter in place and conserve food, water, and other supplies.