On the Go – April 6, 2023

Industry News – Click on the title to read the full article. Many of the sources below require a free registration to gain access to the article. If a paid registration is required, the individual source will be noted.

Airlines

Airlines Accommodate High Demand With Larger Planes (Source: CNBC)
Ahead of the high demand for summer travel, US airlines are prioritizing safe, seamless operations in part by flying bigger planes and moving flights from regional carriers to their own larger jets. “The way we continue to grow our model and grow the business is to upgauge our flights,” said Rodney Cox, United Airlines’ vice president of airport operations at its Newark Liberty International Airport hub.

Delta Air Lines Is Pulling Out Of Two Regional Markets (Source: Travel Market Report)
Delta Air Lines is dropping flights to two more regional markets due to regional pilot availability.  Starting June 5, Delta will no longer serve La Crosse, Wisconsin, and State College, Pennsylvania. Delta only had short schedules to both cities—twice-daily flights from LaGuardia to State College and once-daily from Minneapolis-Saint Paul to La Crosse.

As AA Deadline Arrives, Buyers Share NDC Concerns (Source: Business Travel News)
American Airlines’ mandate that travel agencies and other third parties be connected to the carrier’s New Distribution Capability channels or risk losing up to 40 percent of AA content took effect today. Some travel buyers were looking to manage the new reality, while the American Society of Travel Advisors again protested the airline’s move.

Unruly Airline Passengers Could Soon Find Themselves On The No-Fly List (Source: Travel Market Report)
A small bipartisan group of legislators has reintroduced the Protection from Abusive Passengers Act, which could potentially ban a growing number of airline passengers who are convicted of violence or intimidation in the air.  Noting that “disgraceful violence directed at flight crews and fellow passengers has become rampant,” the legislators (one Senator and two Congressmen) stated that “the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigated 831 unruly-passenger incidents in 2022, up from 146 just four years ago.”

Security

This Airport Becomes First Major U.K. Airport to Drop Liquid Carry-On Rule (Source: Travel Market Report)
Is London City Airport kicking off a new era for international airport security?  The airport, a regional airport located six miles east of the City of London, became the first major U.K. airport to drop its 100-milliliter liquid rule this week.  The news means that passengers traveling through London City will now be able to carry liquids of up to 2 liters in their carry-on, something they haven’t been able to do since the liquid rule was implemented in the U.K. in 2006.

Airports

Half Of The World’s 10 Busiest Airports For 2022 Are In The United States (Source: CNN)
Five of the world’s busiest airports for passengers in 2022 were in the United States, according to preliminary global air traffic figures.  Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was still the world’s busiest airport for passenger volume in 2022, holding the top spot it reclaimed in 2021 after being knocked off stride by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hotels

Bill Would Mandate That Hotels Disclose Full Price Upfront (Source: Travel Weekly)
The Junk Fee Prevention Act has been introduced by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and would require hotels and short-term rentals to display the full cost of a room upfront. The bill states that hotels would need to “clearly and conspicuously display, in each advertisement and when a price is first shown to a consumer, the total price of the good or service provided by the covered entity, including any mandatory fees a consumer would incur during the transaction.”

Moxy and AC Hotels To Open In Downtown Los Angeles (Source: Travel Weekly)
Downtown Los Angeles will get 727 new hotel rooms come April 12, when the dual-branded Moxy Downtown Los Angeles and AC Hotel Downtown Los Angeles complex opens its doors. Located across the street from the Crypto.com Arena and Los Angeles Convention Center at the corner of South Figueroa and Pico, the 380-key Moxy and 347-room AC Hotel are housed within a 37-story, L-shaped high-rise.

Say Goodbye To Daily Hotel Room Cleaning (Source: New York Times)
The pandemic paused many hotels’ guaranteed once-a-day cleanings. Now many of them are making the change permanent, even saying guests prefer it.

Leisure Travel

How Visitors to Britain Can Be Part Of King Charles’ Historic Coronation (Source: Open Jaw)
Just a month away, the coronation of King Charles III is set to be a once-in-a-generation chance for travellers to be personally steeped in pageantry, traditions dating back a millennium and quintessentially English experiences we may never see again in our lifetimes.  Courtesy of Visit Britain, here’s how visitors can tap into the romance of British period dramatic films and TV series and the ultimate in English lifestyle with a trip to be a part of it all during the Coronation.