On the Go – November 21, 2019

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

A4A projects record 31.6M passengers to travel over Thanksgiving (Source: Travel Pulse)
Airlines for America forecasts 31.6 million passengers to travel aboard US carriers during the 12-day Thanksgiving travel period, a 3.7% increase from 2018. 

American tweaks compensation for voluntary bumps (Source: Frequent Business Traveler)
American Airlines is making adjustments to the way it compensates passengers who volunteer to be bumped from oversold flights using a new system, internally referred to as “Pay What You Bid.”

Airports

Charlotte, N.C. airport opens $39M addition (Source: The Charlotte Observer)
Charlotte Douglas International Airport officially unveiled its $39 million, 51,000-square-foot food court expansion Friday.

“Smart” airports seek to simplify, improve service (Source: Skift)
Airports worldwide will spend $11.8 billion this year on information technology, as flight volumes increase and airports seek ways to maximize profitability and improve the customer experience.

Hotels

Cambria opens first Boston Hotel (Source: Hotel Interactive)
Cambria Hotels has opened its first Massachusetts location, designed for the business traveler with a rooftop bar and full-service menu. 

Nashville’s Hermitage Hotel honored as historic site (Source: Forbes)
A nearly 110-year-old institution in Nashville, Tenn., has been named 2019’s Best City Center Historic Hotel by Historic Hotels of America, representing the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Technology

New technology designed to help keep airports safe (Source: FOX4 Southwest Florida)
New technology called Hexwave, which was designed by the Massachusetts Institute for Technology, can be used in conjunction with Transportation Security Administration agents to help keep airports safe.

Security

Local Minn. authorities protest MSP checkpoint closure (Source: StarTribune)
Airport officials are displeased with the Transportation Security Administration’s decision to close the skyway hotel checkpoint at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

TSA opens new $104M checkpoint at Chicago’s Midway (Source: Chicago Business Journal)
The Transportation Security Administration has opened a new $104 million, 12-lane security checkpoint on the southwest side of Chicago’s Midway International Airport.

Vacations

Where are safest, most dangerous travel destinations? (Source: Travel Pulse)
The 11th annual Travel Risk Map from International SOS, a medical and travel security risk services company, forecasts the most dangerous places for traveling in 2020 to include parts of Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen.