On the Go – February 10, 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 to Resume Transatlantic Flights From Minneapolis (Source: Star Tribune)
Delta Air Lines will resume transatlantic service from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport by summer, with flights to Amsterdam, Paris, London and Iceland. “We’re starting to see passengers come back but, most importantly, we’re seeing our corporates come back,” said Mary Loeffelholz, vice president for customer service at MSP.

Delta Increases Transatlantic Routes, Leverages Partnerships (Source: Simple Flying)
Delta Air Lines is adding transatlantic flights to its summer schedule. The carrier is adding schedules to Paris, Amsterdam and London to utilize joint ventures with European airlines. Delta Air Lines has made some adjustments to its transatlantic schedule. With the exception of a few haircuts, the airline has generally added frequencies to take advantage of what nearly every airline expects will be a record summer as restrictions have been down on both sides of the Atlantic for the first time since 2019.

Frontier Agrees to Buy Spirit in $2.9B Deal (Source: Business Travel News)
The effect on corporate business could be minor, as the two leisure-oriented airlines touch a small amount of business travel. In a deal that would unify two of the largest low-cost carriers in the United States, Frontier Airlines on Monday announced an agreement to purchase Spirit Airlines for about $2.9 billion in cash and stock. The boards of directors of each airline, both of which are public, unanimously approved the proposed deal, according to the carriers.

Delta Has a Plan to Cut Down on Carry-On Luggage (Source: Travel Weekly)
Delta is conducting a trial in which customers have the opportunity check their carry-on bag for free instead of stowing it in the cabin. Over the course of February, select customers departing out of Boston will receive a text prior to their arrival at the airport offering them the opportunity to participate.

General Interest

Travel Restrictions Shifting in Europe (Source: The Guardian)
Greece, France and Portugal are easing their requirements for entry by fully vaccinated international travelers, dropping test requirements. Italy and Denmark, however, now have testing requirements and proof of vaccination.

European Countries Begin to Roll Back Travel Restrictions (Source: Simple Flying)
European countries are beginning to drop pandemic-related restrictions like quarantines and test requirements. The looser rules generally apply only to vaccinated travelers. After months of back and forth, false starts, and abrupt pivots leaving people scrambling to make it home fast enough to escape quarantine, and millions of euro spent on tests, it seems Europe might finally be on the verge of a return to something that could be referred to as almost ‘normal’. For those who are vaccinated, that is.

Australia to End Entry Restrictions For Fully Vaccinated Visitors (Source: Business Travel News)
Australia will lift entry restrictions for fully vaccinated visitors, but state-level restrictions like the 14-day quarantine in Western Australia will remain until local regulators see fit to adjust. Australia in two weeks will reopen its borders to all fully vaccinated travelers, allowing business travelers and tourists from around the world to freely visit for the first time in nearly two years. Prime Minister Scott Morrison in a press conference on Monday said all double-vaccinated visa holders can enter Australia as of Feb. 21.

Airports

Seattle Airport to Open $968M International Arrival Facility (Source: The Business Journals)
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport will hold an opening ceremony March 3 for its $968 million international arrivals facility and flights are to begin soon afterward. The facility, under construction since 2017, includes a new grand hall and a pedestrian walkway above an active aircraft taxi lane.

Hotels

Kimpton to Open Another Atlanta Property (Source: MeetingsNet)
On the heels of the Kimpton Sylvan’s debut in Buckhead, Kimpton Wade is set for a summer opening in midtown. The third Kimpton hotel in Atlanta will start welcoming guests to the city’s midtown arts district by early summer. Named the Wade, the property will be part of what’s being called Midtown Union: a corporate, retail, dining, and hospitality development located just a few blocks from the High Museum of Arts, the Woodruff Performing Arts Center, and Center Stage Theater.

New York’s Millennium Hilton Downtown is Getting a New Name (Source: Travel Market Report)
One of New York’s more well-known downtown hotels is getting a rebrand. The Millennium Hilton Downtown, the 55-story hotel on Church Street just steps away from One World Trade Center, will now be known as Millennium Downtown New York, ditching the Hilton name. 

Ground Transportation

Hertz Names Former Goldman Sachs Exec Scherr CEO (Source: Business Travel News)
Car rental company Hertz has named former Goldman Sachs CFO Stephen Scherr its new CEO, effective Feb. 28, the company announced Friday. He will take over from interim CEO Mark Fields, the former Ford chief who joined the company’s leadership team last October.

Leisure Travel

43 Of The Best Places To Eat In New York City (Source: Insider)
I’m a born-and-bred New Yorker and a bona fide foodie. I’ve also been writing about travel and food for over 20 years. Like me, my parents are obsessed with eating, and so I grew up tagging along as they combed New York City searching for their next bite. While other toddlers ate Cheerios and chicken fingers, I slurped soup dumplings and chewed calamari. My earliest memories are filled with flavor, from samosas to pastrami.