On the Go – February 23, 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

American Airlines Drops Nearly 50,000 Flights From Summer Schedule (Source: Simple Flying)
American Airlines has cut tens of thousands of flights from its summer schedule, with JUN and JUL the most affected months, with over 40,000 of the cancelled flights cut from the schedules of those two months. Chicago O’Hare is the most affected airport, followed by Dallas/ Fort Worth.

Southwest Airlines is Changing The Way it Charges For Wi-Fi (Source: Travel Market Report)
Some Southwest Airlines passengers will be paying more for Wi-Fi effective immediately.  The carrier this week announced that it will no longer charge $8 for an all-day WiFi pass. Instead, starting this week, it will charge $8 per flight leg, meaning that someone with a connection would have to pay again for the second leg of their flight.

Air Canada Tests Digital Identification Technology (Source: BNN Bloomberg)
Air Canada will launch digital identification technology on some flights from Vancouver to Winnipeg, becoming the first airline in Canada to do so. “We are very excited to now take a leadership position in Canada and test digital identification using facial recognition technology to validate customer identification quickly, securely and accurately at select airport touchpoints,” said Chief Operations Officer Craig Landry.

Security

TSA’s Top 5 Tips For Flying During Crowded Spring Break Season (Source: Travel Awaits)
Transportation Security Administration anticipates the number of travelers flying during spring break season to be higher than pre-pandemic levels and offers five tips for expediting the TSA checkpoint process, including enrolling in TSA Precheck, which can reduce wait time to less than five minutes. TSA also suggests double-checking that you aren’t carrying any prohibited items and have the proper amount of liquids, arriving to the airport early and keeping your boarding pass and ID readily accessible.

Hotels

Graduate Hotels 101: Experience The Charm Of College Towns (Source: Travel Market Report)
One of the most unique hotel brands in the country carries a full course load.  Founded in 2014 by CEO Ben Weprin, today there are 31 Graduate Hotels properties in university-anchored towns and cities across the U.S., from the Graduate New York Hotel on Roosevelt Island near the Cornell Tech campus to one of the brand’s newest hotels, the Graduate Palo Alto near the Stanford campus.

Hyatt Hotels Expects Room Rate Rebound To Roll On Through 2023 (Source: Skift)
Hyatt Hotels Corp., which enjoyed a blockbuster financial performance in 2022, forecasted Thursday continued success this year, especially in the first half. The company expects to benefit from growing consumer interest in its lifestyle, luxury, and resort properties, returning group reservations for its banquet halls, and an expanding room count.

Leisure Travel

The Best Small Cities In The World (Source: Stars Insider)
Every year, readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine vote for their favorite international city destination. Among other voting requests, readers are asked to nominate their preferred small cities, places where they reckon less means more.  Here are the chosen ones from 2021. Click through and find out if your favorite small city made the cut!

United Airlines Promises To Keep Families Together With New Ticket Policy (Source: Travel Market Report)
United Airlines is rolling out a new dynamic seat map that it says will make it easier for families to sit together at no additional cost starting in March.  While other airlines facilitate families through a more manual process, or even simply by recommending families book far in the advance, United’s new seat map will dynamically find available advanced seats at the time of booking, reviewing all available free economy seats first and then, if no options are available, looking at complimentary upgrades to available Preferred seats if needed.