United elite status is slipping further out of my reach — here's what I'm doing as a result

Over the past decade, tourism has boomed in and around Asheville, N.C., with visitors drawn to the temperate climate, green mountains and beautiful waterfalls of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The number of second homes in the area has multiplied, as have the number of short-term home rentals.

Last week, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm before ripping through six states leaving a path of destruction in its wake and killing more than 100 people. The record-breaking storm – which clocked 140 mph winds and a storm surge that reached more than 15 feet above ground in the Florida Big Bend region – has left millions to deal with flooded roads, flattened homes and buildings, and power outages. North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina and Alabama have all made disaster declarations as emergency responders work to rescue missing persons and more than 1.2 million are still without power as of Wednesday, according to PowerOutage.us. Popular North Carolina mountain towns – including Asheville – which have become top tourist destinations in the fall, have been reduced to debris as residents are left to rebuild their lives. Carrie Tucker of Charlotte, North Carolina, told Travel + Leisure in the wake of Hurricane Helene, western North Carolina is “completely cut off from life – no roads, no gas, no food.”

Southwest Airlines is giving travelers an extra reason to say “wow” when planning a vacation.  The Dallas-based airline recently announced the «Save WOW» fare sale, with deals up to 40 percent off base fares. Best of all, the sale covers flights through March 2025 to several popular destinations, making it a perfect option for travelers looking for a fall, winter, and even early spring getaway.  The fare sale runs from now through October 3, 2024 at 11:59 p.m.

Delta Air Lines is on a roll in Austin with plans to add five new routes next year.

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida on Thursday and started her devastating path up through the southeastern United States.

Spirit Airlines is making more big changes to its network.

Delta Air Lines is picking up the slack that American Airlines left in Austin.

Delta Air Lines will soon begin new service connecting Salt Lake City and Seoul, South Korea. This is the first time the two cities have been connected with nonstop service, and the inaugural flight will take off on June 12, 2025. This airline recently announced this would be its fifth flight route from a United States hub city to Seoul.

A popular low-cost air airline is expanding globally. Southwest Airlines recently announced a partnership to offer international flights by partnering with carriers who operate international fights in Southwest markets. “Southwest is formalizing partnerships with international carriers to expand its network and connect Customers with more global destinations to generate additional demand for travel across the Southwest network,” Southwest shared in a news release. The launch of this new international flight program will take place in 2025, with Icelandair as the first partner airline, and will depart from the Baltimore, MD (BWI) airport. There, travelers can fly on Icelandair to Iceland, where they can connect to a variety of European destinations including Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Dublin, Oslo, Prague, Rome, and more. Icelandair is a discount carrier that operates international flights, and similar to Southwest, does not have a first or business class section on their aircraft.  “The partnership will unlock many exciting travel options for our customers, and our extensive network in Europe will open for Southwest customers,” Icelandair President and CEO Bogi Nils Bogason said in a statement.  “As part of our strategic focus on expanding our global partnership network, we seek out airlines known for exceptional service and connectivity.” As an example, a traveler would start their journey on Southwest from Nashville to Baltimore, and then continue on Icelandair from Baltimore to Iceland.

When most Americans think of cruises, they probably think of island-hopping in the Caribbean or cruising by glaciers in Alaska from afar. That may be appealing for some people, but for others, the idea of being lazy on a ship of thousands of people for a week doesn’t sound like much of a vacation.

A new nonstop flight from Dallas Fort Worth straddles three days. On Wednesday, Cathay Pacific announced it will launch services from Hong Kong to and from the Texan hub.

Amtrak is launching a brand-new route this fall that will run from Chicago all the way down to Miami.