On the Go – February 4, 2021

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 Bring Rapid Covid Tests To MSP Airport (Source: Twin Cities Business)
Delta Air Lines Inc., still the dominant carrier at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, plans to roll out rapid Covid-19 testing at the airport later this month.

Delta, Alitalia Partner On COVID-Tested Flights (Source: TravelPulse)
Delta Air Lines and Alitalia are codesharing on Delta’s COVID-tested flights between Rome and Atlanta and the Italian carrier’s flights between the Italian capital and New York’s John F. Kennedy International. Officials at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport are asking the government to extend the pilot program beyond Feb. 15.

Delta Launches Domestic Digital Identity Test Trial (Source: Business Traveler)
Delta is launching a pilot program to expand biometric digital ID testing to domestic travelers to help provide a touchless experience from curb-to-gate. The trial will be based in Detroit’s Edward H. McNamara Terminal, and builds upon Delta’s existing facial recognition option for customers traveling to an international destination. “The Covid-19 pandemic has only deepened the importance of providing a touchless experience for our customers. We plan to expand curb-to-gate facial recognition and digital ID beyond the Detroit test so that all of our customers can enjoy a seamless, touchless travel experience across our network,” Delta’s Bill Lentsch said.

General Interest

Four Travel Credit Card Benefits You Absolutely Need In 2021 (Source: MarketWatch)
How much value did you get out of your Priority Pass membership this year? Did you ever use Global Entry in 2020? Sure, travel credit cards can offer luxurious benefits like hotel room upgrades, admission to airport lounges, elite status and access to priority lanes at airports. Yet here lies the problem: It’s unlikely you set foot in an airline lounge more than a couple of times this year — if at all. It’s even less likely you made use of Global Entry membership, considering there are few countries where U.S. citizens can travel right now.

In The New World of Business Travel, Traveler Wellbeing Must Come First (Source: PhocuWire)
As we enter 2021, businesses are taking stock of everything that’s happened as a result of COVID‐19 and are taking a fresh look at how to approach the new year – including asking the question of how to facilitate essential travel for business in the safest possible way. It’s clear that the virus will not disappear overnight, but with gradual and promising progress for initiatives such as airport testing and travel corridors, many companies are looking at ways to work practically with the reality that the virus will be with us for some time. Although employee safety and confidence has always been a priority, organizations must assess how to mitigate the risks of business travel in the new normal.

Hotels

Marriott Pumps Pizzazz Into Plodding Sheraton (Source: Adweek)
Marriott International has launched a makeover effort for Sheraton Hotels and Resorts that had been contemplated since the purchase of the lucrative but stodgy brand in 2016. Marriott says it intends to redesign more than 40 Sheraton properties by 2023 in hopes of wooing “the next generation of travelers.”

Airports

Pittsburgh Airport to Begin Delayed Terminal Project (Source: The Business Journal)
Pittsburgh International Airport plans to begin work this spring on a $1.1 billion terminal modernization project that was put on hold in April 2020. The design, which got a fresh look with an eye toward public health concerns, includes separate levels for departing and arriving passengers, technological upgrades, and more retail space.

Security

LAX Fully Equipped With ID Scanners (Source: Airport Technology)
Los Angeles International Airport is the first to install automated photo ID scanners at all its Transportation Security Administration security checkpoints. Passengers still must hand identification to agents but can just hold up their boarding passes for inspection.

Leisure Travel

Hawaii Resort Wins U.S. News “Best Hotels of 2021” Race (Source: TravelPulse)
Hawaii’s Four Seasons Resort Lanai heads this year’s edition of U.S. News & World Report’s rankings of top hotels across the US, Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, the Caribbean and Europe. Following in order, from a survey of more than 30,000 luxury properties, are Acqualina Resort & Residences on the Beach (Sunny Isles Beach, Fla.); The Peninsula Chicago; The Beverly Hills Hotel and The Langham (Chicago).