Although business travel has made significant progress in its recovery in recent months, it’s uncertain if and when it will fully rebound from the pandemic.
25.08.2023 - 13:40 / skift.com / Alan Joyce / Edward Russell / Rashaad Jorden / Vanessa Hudson / Qantas Airways
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, May 3. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
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International travelers will soon no longer need proof of vaccination to enter the U.S. The White House announced this week the vaccine requirement for inbound international flyers will end on May 11, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam.
The Biden administration cited the decrease in Covid cases and hospitalizations as a reason for its decision. Habtemariam notes the White House had implemented the vaccine requirements to help slow the spread of the virus. U.S. travel authorities applauded the government’s removal of the vaccine mandate, a move that could lead to an increase in international visitors.
Next, VisitBritain is the latest tourism board to jump on the artificial intelligence bandwagon. The organization has created a game using AI voice technology for a campaign targeting American tourists, reports Contributor Samantha Shankman.
VisitBritain is using the rapidly emerging technology to play around with regional UK accents as part of its campaign. Prospective visitors are invited to try those accents, which AI scores, and share the results on social media. A VisitBritain executive said the organization created AI speech technology that can judge Americans’ impressions of UK accents.
Shankman writes VisitBritain believes the content can push test takers toward booking travel to the UK. Skift examined how generative AI — technology that includes the creation of images, audio and video — could fundamentally alter travel marketing in a 2023 Megatrend.
We end today with a look at Qantas Airways new CEO, Vanessa Hudson. She faces the difficult task of living up to the legacy established by her predecessor, reports Edward Russell, editor of Airline Weekly, a Skift publication.
Hudson, who will take over from longtime CEO Alan Joyce in November, will inherit an airline that has emerged stronger out of the pandemic. Russell writes Joyce turned Qantas into a profitable aviation powerhouse during his 15 years at the helm. The company posted a more than $1 billion operating profit during the first six months of its 2023 fiscal year. Qantas expects a profit for the full fiscal year ending in June.
Russell adds that Hudson, Qantas’ current chief financial officer, will need to manage the airline’s international partnerships. Its joint venture with American Airlines is one of them, which Russell writes grew in importance during the pandemic.
Although business travel has made significant progress in its recovery in recent months, it’s uncertain if and when it will fully rebound from the pandemic.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, August 31. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
This summer’s travel boom is showing no signs of slowing down during the Labor Day weekend, especially for the growing number of Americans looking to vacation overseas.
The deadly wildfires on the island of Maui are likely to affect visitor — and airline — demand to the island for the “foreseeable future,” analysts at T.D. Cowen said Friday.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Monday, November 21. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
The world’s biggest airline is ready for Thanksgiving, having already battled through several hurricanes in recent months.
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.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, January 6, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Sun Country Airlines CEO Jude Bricker believes it’s premature to draw firm conclusions about the emergence of new travel patterns seven months into the travel industry’s recovery. But Bricker said at the recent Skift Aviation Forum that surging airfares are changing travelers’ behaviors, including driving more consumers to fly on Tuesdays instead of the weekend.
Steven Udvar-Házy, the co-founder and executive chairman of lessor Air Lease Corporation, believes the airline industry will likely see more consolidation, especially in Europe. Udvar-Házy said at the recent Skift Aviation Forum in Dallas that while he doubts the continent’s low-cost carriers will be involved in any mergers, he sees Italy’s ITA and TAP Air Portugal as takeover targets.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, December 21, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.