Airlines tips

United Airlines is taking a subtle dig at rival Southwest Airlines’ massive number of holiday season cancellations in an ad it’s airing during the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Amtrak saw some 10 million travelers return to the rails in the U.S. last year. That was great news for the railroad that saw passenger numbers crater during the early days of the pandemic then slowly come back as people hesitantly returned to travel.

Loss-making Norwegian airline Flyr said on Monday it had failed to raise the cash it needs from shareholders and other potential investors, leaving it in a “critical short-term liquidity situation”.

Two months. That’s how long Southwest Airlines expects there to be an impact on bookings from its massive holiday meltdown that disrupted millions of travelers over Christmas and New Years.

United Airlines is close to reaching a deal with Boeing for a major 787 Dreamliner order, two sources briefed on the matter told Reuters.

Rising airfares and travel costs are prompting legal professionals involved in dispute resolutions to return to video conferencing.

Malaysia’s Capital A will not be merging its airlines, but will instead move all the carriers under one existing structure, similar to how British Airways, Iberia Airline, and Aer Lingus operate under the International Airlines Group umbrella, said CEO Tony Fernandes on Monday.

Despite recession risks and inflation impacts, the travel industry has in fact plenty of significant upsides.

Southwest Airlines has put an initial number to the losses incurred during its holiday meltdown: a $725-825 million hit to its pre-tax income in the fourth quarter. That number includes both $400-425 million in lost revenue and added costs, for example reimbursing people for alternative travel costs.

United Airlines is still giving every single passenger an alcohol wipe as they enter the airplane. During the pandemic, it was for a specific reason. Now, that reason has shifted a bit. 

Skift Research has been tracking the performance of the major travel sectors in 22 countries since the beginning of the pandemic in the Skift Travel Health Index. We have seen a steady upward trend, but the final push to full recovery seems more stubborn than we initially thought.

There is a pilot shortage in the airline industry, but that’s no problem for Connect Airlines. 

It’s not often that travelers have something to look forward to at Newark Liberty International Airport. The new $2.7 billion Terminal A will open in December, the latest in a series of major airport projects opening around the U.S. this year.

The inaugural Skift Aviation Forum welcomed Robert Isom, the CEO of American Airlines, as its first speaker at the Statler Hotel in downtown Dallas. During the interview he shared how the world’s biggest airline was prepared for the upcoming Thanksgiving vacation, and already looking ahead to the future with a focus on recruiting and training pilots, and staffing the carrier back up.

Jude Bricker, CEO of Sun Country Airlines, said it’s premature to reach definite conclusions regarding the airline industry seven months into its recovery, especially pertaining to business travel’s ongoing rebound.

For this bonus episode of The Skift Travel Podcast, we turn to Dallas where we held our first in-person Skift Aviation Forum earlier this week. To begin the event, we invited American Airlines CEO Robert Isom to have a conversation conversation with Airline Weekly’s Ned Russell about post-pandemic pattern changes and how his airline is preparing for the holiday season ahead.

American Airlines is no longer accepting new or renewal contracts for AirPass, its VIP-corporate membership scheme. However, “program functionality” will end by March 31, 2024.

Airbnb Mulls Removing Cleaning Fees as a Separate Charge: Hosts may be sabotaging their own bookings by levying excessively high cleaning fees. It is turning off many people to Airbnb, which is a concern for the company.

Azul Brazilian Airlines doesn’t expect any ultra-low cost carriers to enter Brazil any time soon. The low cost carrier has 165 aircraft that fly to 170 destinations in Brazil and will flies just under 1000 flights a day next month.

United Airlines, Alcohol Wipes and Finding New Customer Touch Points: Some passengers want to talk to people. Some do not. United Airlines wants make sure they all have a choice.

Linda Jojo, chief customer officer for United Airlines, described a slew of ways the major airline is changing the customer experience during the Skift Aviation Forum in Dallas.