On the Go – May 20, 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

United Adds Domestic Flights As Restrictions Ease (Source: Reuters)
United Airlines plans to add more than 400 flights to its daily schedule in July, and says it will fly 80% of its domestic July 2019 schedule. United is boosting domestic flights from its hubs in Dallas, Chicago and Washington, D.C., and adding more flights to destinations in Europe.

Delta Adds Destinations From Boston, New York (Source: Simple Flying)
Delta Air Lines is adding three new routes from Boston in October with flights to Dallas, Toronto and Charlotte, N.C., and will fly larger aircraft on other routes from the city. The airline is also adding new service between Toronto and New York’s LaGuardia International Airport.

JetBlue CEO Highlights New London Service (Source: The Associated Press)
JetBlue is debuting transatlantic service, offering daily flights from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to London’s Heathrow Airport starting Aug. 11 and to Gatwick Airport starting Sept. 29. The airline also plans to begin service from Boston to London starting in summer 2022.

Delta Air Lines Adds New International Routes From NYC (Source: Simple Flying)
Delta Air Lines is boosting its flight schedule from New York City, where the airline will operate more than 300 daily flights from John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport. Delta is adding a new route to Croatia, operating COVID-tested flights to Italy and restoring daily nonstop flights to Greece.

American, Delta Offer Quarantine-Free Italy Flights (Source: One Mile at a Time)
American tourists who present a negative COVID-19 test prior to departure and upon arrival in Italy can now bypass quarantine requirements on certain flights to Italy. American Airlines is offering quarantine-free flights from New York to Milan and Rome, and Delta Air Lines is offering those routes as well as flights from Atlanta to Rome.

Airlines Are Actually Reducing Potential COVID-19 Exposure by Returning to Pre-Pandemic Boarding Methods (Source: Travel + Leisure)
Airlines including Delta, JetBlue, and United temporarily switched to back-to-front plane boarding during the pandemic to cut down on unnecessary close contact between passengers. But a new study says this method — filling aisles one-by-one from the back — could actually double your chance of being exposed to COVID-19 compared to random boarding.

General Interest

EU Countries Agree to Open to Fully Vaccinated Americans This Summer (Source: The Points Guy)
The European Union confirmed on Wednesday that it will reopen to fully vaccinated travelers this summer. The group’s Member States came to an agreement that will allow fully vaccinated travelers to enter the EU — including Americans — according to a spokesperson. The final agreement is expected to be published later this week while a final vote for approval is expected next week. Under the vaccine passport scheme, each of the EU Member States would adopt the same entry requirements for visitors. The agreed-upon notion will see fully vaccinated travelers allowed entry to each of the EU countries without the need for a further COVID-19 test result or quarantine on arrival.

Face Covering Requirement Remains For Planes, Airports (Source: AVweb)
New guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks or social distance in most indoor settings, but the federal rule requiring masks on public transportation, including air travel, remains in place. “You will still be required to wear a mask on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States, and in US transportation hubs such as airports and stations,” the agency said.

Hotels

$70M Refurbishment Graces Star-Studded Arizona Biltmore (Source: Travel + Leisure Online)
A sprawling Phoenix hotel that’s played host to US presidents and show business headliners since its birth in 1929 has undergone a $70 million makeover that took more than a year. Designed under the influence of legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the Arizona Biltmore boasts 700 guest rooms and seven swimming pools across its 39 acres.

Former New Orleans Orphanage Reborn As High-End Hotel (Source: The Times-Picayune)
A new upscale boutique hotel in New Orleans occupies an imposing Victorian building that was founded as an orphanage during the Civil War. The Hotel St. Vincent, which bears the name of the children’s sanctuary, was developed by entrepreneur Zachary Kupperman, who bought the property four years ago when it was functioning as a budget hostel.

Ground Transportation

Rental Cars Are In Short Supply As Demand Returns (Source: Travel Weekly)
US car rental agencies, which began selling some of their fleets as demand dropped during the pandemic, are reporting a shortage of cars for rent as traveling resumes. Prices are increasing, especially in popular tourist states like Hawaii, Colorado and Florida, with some tourists opting to rent U-Haul trucks instead.

Airports

Cleveland Officials Get First Look At Airport Plan (Source: WKYC-TV)
The Cleveland City Council Transportation Committee has gotten a first look at a 20-year master plan to renovate Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The plan, estimated at $1.82 billion, includes changes to the terminal, more parking spaces, rental car storage spaces, a revised roadway system and curb reconfiguration.

Leisure Travel

Yes, You Can Cruise To Alaska This Year – Here’s How (Source: The Points Guy)
With so much talk about how Alaska cruises might not happen in 2021, consider this a reminder that some lines are preparing to sail in the region, even as you’re reading this. In fact, one of them, Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic, is adding 13 more voyages across two ships — National Geographic Sea Bird and National Geographic Sea Lion — each of which carries 62 passengers.