On the Go – December 19, 2024

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

Delta Air Lines Gears Up For Winter Travel (Source: Delta News Hub)
Delta Air Lines is preparing for a busy winter holiday travel season, expecting to serve 9.3 million passengers on over 75,000 flights, enhancing operations and updating technology, including real-time bag tracking via the Fly Delta app and Apple AirTag integration. At the Operations & Customer Center, Duty Director Pete Sansom oversees coordination across 36 departments as his team focuses on deicing, handling unpredictable weather and ensuring safety, with the in-house meteorology team playing a crucial role. “Working in the OCC can be like solving a big puzzle; just when you think you have it figured out, a piece is missing,” Sansom said, and he has “to figure out how to get people to their destination while keeping our customers and employees safe.”

Korean Air Completes Asiana Acquisition (Source: Travel Weekly)
Korean Airlines has completed its acquisition of Asiana, South Korea’s second-largest carrier.  The $1.3 billion deal, which gives Korean a 64% stake in Asiana, came four years after the airlines reached a merger agreement during the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Security

An Even Faster Way Through Airport Security: Here’s What It’s Like Using Touchless ID (Source: The Points Guy)
Biometric screening, or touchless ID, is coming to an airport near you, and it will speed up your journey — especially through airport security.  I’m a huge fan, and now that more airports are rolling out this technology, I want to share what it’s like to use it.

Airports

London Heathrow Airport To Invest $3B On Upgrades (Source: Reuters)
Heathrow said on Wednesday it planned to invest 2.3 billion pounds ($2.92 billion) over the next two years to upgrade Britain’s busiest airport.  The investment is an uplift of 244 million pounds on previously forecasted investments, it said, and comes just days after Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF and French investment firm Ardian completed, opens new tab their more than 37% stake acquisition in the airport.

Cincinnati Airport Plans $575M Terminal Modernization (Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer)
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport’s (CVG) $575 million terminal modernization program includes upgrades to passenger facilities, a revamped baggage handling system and expanded ticketing areas. “We have really good bones and a really good foundation of our facilities, so the plan was to renovate and modernize rather than to build new,” said Mindy Kershner, a spokesperson for the airport, located in Boone County, Ky.

Miami Airport Plans $9B In Improvements (Source: Miami Herald)
Miami International Airport (MIA) has unveiled plans for $9 billion in improvement projects that include redesigning the Central Terminal, expanding the South Terminal and replacing all 126 passenger bridges. The projects are expected to take 15 years and are funded by airport-generated revenue.

Hotels

Doors Open At The Firs W Hotel In Las Vegas (Source: Travel Weekly)
The W Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay has opened its doors, marking the completed transformation of the former Delano Las Vegas.  The conversion of the 1,117-room tower introduces Marriott International’s W Hotels brand to Las Vegas as well as builds on a long-term strategic partnership between MGM Resorts International and Marriott that began in mid-2023.

These Are The Best New Hotels That Opened In 2024 (Source: The Points Guy)
Here at TPG, our team of travel experts and global contributors begins the year by examining the most exciting hotels scheduled to open. Then, we make it our mission to visit as many of those hotels as possible — whether they’re just down the street from TPG’s HQ in New York City or on the opposite side of the globe — to determine if they’re worthy of your hard-earned points and dollars.

Leisure Travel

New York City Holiday Guide (Source: Travel Market Report)
New York City’s hotels and iconic attractions are stepping it up this year with their traditional holiday experiences for visitors. The tree at Rockefeller Center shines bright, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s blue spruce stands stall over the 18th century Neapolitan Baroque Creche, and the annual origami holiday tree in the American Museum of Natural History tucks into the holiday spirit.

For Assistance with your upcoming vacation planning, please call Travel One: 952-854-2551

This industry news synopsis is intended for travel professionals and is provided as a news resource only. Travel One does not endorse advertisements that may be contained or pop up in the links. Please consider the environment before printing this email