On the Go – December 22, 2022

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 to Offer Free Wi-Fi in 2023 (Source: The Wall Street Journal)
Air Lines reportedly plans to start offering free Wi-fi to passengers in early 2023. Airlines across the industry have focused significantly on improving inflight internet access.

Four Changes From American Airlines’ AAdvantage Update (Source: Travel Market Report)
This weekend, American Airlines announced some changes to its AAdvantage loyalty program, which it said will help more of its members earn and use loyalty points by flying with American.  “We’re creating a more meaningful travel rewards program for our AAdvantage members,” said Vasu Raja, American’s Chief Commercial Officer.

Delta Exec: Change Fees Will Not Come Back (Source: Thrifty Traveler)
Delta Air Lines will not bring back “change fees,” the penalty for altering travel plans that airlines dropped during the pandemic, pledged President Glen Hauenstein. Only 5% of Delta tickets are basic economy fares, executives said, while premium economy tickets are “flying off the shelves” in the words of CEO Ed Bastian, who added that “premium is leading the recovery.”

The Iconic Boeing 747 Ends Its 50-Year Run (Source: Travel Market Report)
The Boeing 747 jetliner, the bulbous-nosed behemoth that effectively kicked off the era of mass tourism, has left the building.  But the ending, when it came, was a bit anticlimactic. Boeing hadn’t produced a passenger version of the widebody in several years, and the last model that rolled off the assembly line in Seattle earlier this month was a freighter version built for cargo line Atlas Air.

General Interest

The Biggest Travel Stories of 2022 (Source: Travel Weekly)
In most years, the top travel industry stories are a mix of natural disasters, mergers and acquisitions, controversial government policies and unforeseen trends.  But for the first two years of this decade, the most impactful stories sprang from one event whose long-reaching tentacles dominated every industry sector, every destination and every travel business, large and small: Covid-19.

Airports

Phoenix Airport First to Offer Self-Driving Ride Service (Source: Meeting News)
As Phoenix gets ready to host the Super Bowl, Mayor Kate Gallego announced Friday that Sky Harbor International Airport will be the first to offer the self-driving ride-hailing service Waymo.  “The future is here,” Gallego said at a news conference in front of the airport’s sky train station. “Phoenix is the first airport anywhere in the world to have autonomous service bringing people to our airport.”

London City Airport Wants to Raise Its Passenger Cap 39 Percent (Source: Simple Flying)
London City Airport (LCY) applied to the London Borough of Newham on December 19th to change operational permissions. Airport executives submitted the application following a 10-week consultation in which it consulted airlines and airport management. The results of these consultations became the foundation of the application. This application will extend airport operating hours and passenger capacity, adding thousands of additional jobs if approved.

Hotels

Wisconsin Boutique Hotel Is All About Cheese (Source: Food & Wine)
An eight-room boutique hotel has opened inside a refurbished Wisconsin cheese factory, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Seven Acre Dairy Company features thematic rooms, a restaurant and cafe with dairy-inspired menus and a microdairy producing ice cream and butter.

Largest Hotel in Minnesota Going to Auction in January (Source: MeetingsNet)
One block from the Minneapolis Convention Center, the 826-room Hilton Minneapolis went into foreclosure due to pandemic-related losses. The defaulting owners also control the city’s second-largest hotel.

Ground Transportation

Amtrak Unveils New Train Cars With Plenty For Customers To Love (Source: The Points Guy)
Amtrak is ushering in a new era of modern train travel.  The rail company just shared highlights of its new, state-of-the-art trains, dubbed Amtrak Airo, set to roll out on the Northeast Corridor from North Carolina to New York in 2026.  Passengers can expect “a new era of modern train travel,” said Amtrak spokesperson Jason Abrams of the sleek new trains that will offer what Amtrak is calling “an elevated experience.”

Leisure Travel

The 10 Best U.S. Cities to Celebrate New Year’s (Source: TravelPulse)
Traveling to celebrate the arrival of the new year is a surefire way to make unforgettable memories. But landing on where to celebrate can be a challenge.  Fortunately, new research reveals the best places to ring in 2023. Personal finance website WalletHub recently compared the 100 largest U.S. cities based on 29 key indicators of a great New Year’s Eve celebration, including important factors such as the legality of fireworks, the average price of a New Year’s Eve party ticket and the forecasted precipitation for December 31, among others.