On the Go – March 24, 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 Receives First A321neo (Source: TravelPulse)
Delta Air Lines has received its first Airbus A321neo, which will be joined by 25 more this year. “Not only do these aircraft offer the best customer experience in the industry, but these fuel-efficient airplanes further demonstrate our commitment to a more sustainable future,” said Senior Vice President Mahendra Nair.

Southwest Airlines Announces Leadership Changes (Source: Simple Flying)
Southwest Airlines has announced several promotions and added Christa Lucas to its executive team as vice president for governmental affairs. The promotions affect flight operations, personnel, vacation package sales and Southwest Airlines University.

This is the Most Annoying Thing You Can Do on a Plane (Source: SmarterTravel)
Being crammed into a cramped coach seat is bad enough, but your fellow flyers can make things so much worse with their bad behavior. If you’ve ever been stuck next to a loud talker or behind someone who has reclined all the way into your lap, you know what we’re referring to. A new survey conducted by Only Wanderlust has ranked the most annoying things people do while flying. Here are the activities you should spare your fellow flyers from while on a plane.

Delta, Airbus Collaborate on Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft (Source: Reuters)
Delta Air Lines will work with Airbus on the manufacturer’s effort to develop a hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft. “To pull the future of sustainable aviation forward, we need to accelerate the development and commercialization of potentially disruptive technologies,” said Pam Fletcher, Delta’s chief sustainability officer.

Will Europe Ban Short Flights? (Source: SmarterTravel)
If you want to hop on a short flight to get around Europe, you may have to look for another option in the future. The emergence of several low-cost airlines over the past few decades has led to incredibly cheap flights around the continent but it has also resulted in aviation becoming the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe.

General Interest

U.S. Citizens Can Travel Home With An Expired Passport Through June (Source: Travel Weekly)
American citizens can now return from abroad on expired passports through June 30, the State Department has announced. The temporary measure, which last extended in December, had been set to expire on March 31. 

Security

Apple’s New TSA-Approved Digital ID is Now Live, Coming Soon to More States (Source: The Points Guy)
The days of fumbling around for your driver’s license at the security checkpoint are slowly coming to an end. Apple on Wednesday announced it officially launched digital state IDs in the iPhone Wallet app, beginning with those issued by the state of Arizona. As of March 23, anyone with an Arizona-issued driver’s license or ID can convert the physical card into a digital version directly on an iPhone. Once converted, the digital ID can be used at select TSA security checkpoints at the Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) airport.

TSA to Deploy Improved Airport Scanners (Source: TravelPulse)
The Transportation Security Administration is investing up to $781.2 million in new scanning equipment that should speed passengers through checkpoints more quickly. The scanners, the first of which are to be deployed this summer, “provide our dedicated frontline officers with one of the best tools available to screen passenger carry-on items and also improves the passenger experience by allowing passengers to keep more items in their carry-on bags during the screening process,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said.

Hotels

Radisson Plans New Upper-Midscale U.S. Brand (Source: Business Travel News)
Radisson Hotel Group Americas on Wednesday announced the launch of Radisson Inn & Suites, a new upper-midscale, limited-service brand. The new brand is intended for airport locations, metropolitan areas and mixed development communities in U.S., Canada, Caribbean and Latin America markets. Those locations will distinguish Radisson Inn & Suites from Radisson’s suburban-focused Country Inn & Suites, according to the company.

New York’s Hotel Chelsea Partially Reopens After 11-Year Closure (Source: Travel Weekly)
New York City’s Hotel Chelsea — the famed celebrity haunt once home to Andy Warhol, Arthur Miller, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin and countless other cultural luminaries — has quietly reopened its doors. Located at 222 West 23rd Street in Manhattan, the property is still under renovation, but has launched “hard hat rates” on its website, for “guests willing to tolerate a little construction.” 

Echo to be Wyndham’s First Economy Extended Stay (Source: Business Travel News)
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts today announced it had awarded contracts to develop 50 properties for its new economy extended-stay hotel brand, currently known as “Economy Hotel Opportunity” or ECHO. Echo, to which Wyndham alluded in its recent earnings call, is the company’s first economy extended-stay brand. Expected to launch in 2023, the 124-room Echo prototype features individual rooms averaging 300-square-foot studio suites with in-suite kitchenettes. Public spaces, such as lobby, fitness center and guest laundry, are designed to limit labor needs. The project specifically targets the essential worker, relocation and construction worker segment of business travel.

Leisure Travel

5 Gorgeous Road Trips to Experience in the UK (Source: Travel Awaits)
There is nothing much better than a road trip, preferably in a new country waiting to be explored slowly and bit by bit. There are certain countries that lend themselves to road trips more than others, and the UK is one of them. The rolling English countryside is full of picturesque villages, the rugged Scottish wilderness is dotted with lochs and castles, and the ancient coastline offers everything from steep white chalk cliffs to white beaches and rugged coves. All these hidden gems tend to be difficult to discover by train or on tours but are waiting for those willing to drive and take some interesting turns off the main roads.

White House Tours Are Back: Here’s What You Need to Know (Source: The Points Guy)
I remember visiting the White House for the first time during former President George H.W. Bush’s time in office. A friend with a friend who worked in the Washington, D.C., landmark at the time — if that isn’t a quintessential D.C. thing to say, I don’t know what is — was couch surfing at my place and wanted to “pay” me with a tour of the presidential mansion.