On the Go – September 22, 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 Air Lines Tests Dual-Gate Boarding Process (Source: Simple Flying)
Delta Air Lines has started testing a boarding process that uses two adjacent gates to move passengers onto a 737 through front and rear doors. The airline is running the test on some flights departing from Cincinnati.

Hackers Access Data of Some American Airlines Customers (Source: Travel Weekly)
American Airlines says personal information of a “very small number” of customers and employees was compromised after hackers breached some employee email accounts.  There is no indication that the attackers have misused any of the personal information, the company said.

The U.S. Has a Pilot Shortage – Here’s How Airlines Are Trying to Fix it (Source: CNBC)
U.S. airlines are facing a severe pilot shortage. Management consulting firm Oliver Wyman estimates the industry is facing a deficit of about 8,000 pilots and says the shortfall could reach 30,000 pilots by 2025.

Delta Air Lines Prepares Refinery to Process Biofuels to Cut Jet Fuel Costs (Source: Skift)
Delta Air Lines Inc plans to start receiving shipments of renewable fuel feedstocks at its Trainer, Pennsylvania, refinery as part of a strategy that could reduce its environmental liabilities by hundreds of millions of dollars, according to three sources familiar with the matter.  The move suggests a shift in strategy for Delta subsidiary Monroe Energy, which in the past has been among the smaller refiners that have tried to pressure the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the White House to reform biofuel laws.

General Interest

Canada Expected to Drop Vaccine Requirement For Entry (Source: Travel Weekly)
Canada will likely drop the vaccine requirement for people who enter Canada by the end of September, an official familiar with the matter told the Associated Press on Tuesday.  Canada, like the United States, requires foreign nationals to be vaccinated when entering the country. It is not immediately known whether the U.S. will make a similar move by Sept. 30.

Travel Prices Are Coming Back to Earth (Source: Yahoo! Finance)
Skyrocketing airfares earlier this year and recent headlines about persistent inflation may be discouraging potential travelers. Yet recent data suggest that prices for hotels, air travel and rental cars are softening this autumn.  And the U.S. dollar’s continued strength has driven down international travel costs.

Netherlands Has Finally Removed All COVID-19 Travel Restrictions (Source: Schengenvisa)
As of last Saturday, September 19, the Dutch government has scrapped all remaining Coronavirus entry restrictions, for all incoming travellers, including here those coming from non-European Union countries.  The decision has been announced by the Government of the Netherlands through a statement issued on Friday, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

Airports

A Look at New Terminal For Kansas City, MO Airport (Source: The Points Guy)
A $1.5 billion new terminal is set to open by March 2023 at Kansas City International Airport, on time and under budget. The new design separates arrivals from departures, centralizes security screening and incorporates more natural light.

Schiphol Tightens Passenger Cap Due to Understaffing (Source: Travel Weekly)
Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport plans to further restrict passenger numbers in September and October after security companies have failed to provide adequate personnel to ensure traveler safety, the airport announced.  The Netherlands hub airport will further restrict the number of locally departing passengers per day by an average of 18% — or 9,250 passengers — due to the lack of available security guards.

Hotels

BWH Add Five Hotels to its WorldHotels Brand Portfolio (Source: Travel Market Report)
The BWH Hotel Group, which includes Best Western and other brands, announced on Tuesday that it was adding five new hotels to its WorldHotels portfolio.  The additions are some of 20 new hotels that WorldHotels has added to its portfolio over the last year and 12 more are expected to open before the end of 2022.

Dallas to Get Its First JW Marriott (Source: MeetingsNet)
The 23-floor luxury property going up in the Arts District is the third North Texas property from the Sam Moon Development Group. The first JW Marriott Hotel in Dallas is on track to open in spring 2023. Located in the city’s Arts District, the 267-room property will be just a block from the Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, and Crow Museum of Asian Arts.

Ground Transportation

Hertz Plans to Order Up to 175,000 Electric Vehicles in the Next 5 Years (Source: MarketWatch)
Hertz Global Holdings Inc. and General Motors Co. said Tuesday they have entered into an agreement in which Hertz plans to order up to 175,000 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and BrightDrop electric vehicles over the next five years.  Hertz and GM said they believe this plan is the largest expansion of EVs among fleet customers and the broadest because it spans a wide range of vehicle categories and price points, from compact and midsize SUVs to pickups, luxury vehicles and more.

Sixt Hits Gas on U.S. Expansion (Source: Travel Weekly)
Germany-based car rental giant Sixt entered the U.S. market about 10 years ago in Florida but had a relatively small U.S. presence before the pandemic.  The company now has about 100 locations in the U.S. and has ambitions for additional growth.

Leisure Travel

The 19 Best Tampa Beach Hotels (Source: SmarterTravel)
Start your pre-vacation relaxation by not working too hard on finding beachside accommodations. We’ve already picked the best hotels in and around Tampa for you. While several of these hotels aren’t in Tampa, they are close by, either within close proximity to the beach, or with direct beach access. No matter where you stay, these hotels have everything you need for the perfect beach vacation.

The 26 Things You Can’t Miss in Colorado (Source: SmarterTravel)
Colorado is the perfect antithesis to a city vacation, offering more national parks, hiking trails, ski mountains, and other outdoor activities than you can shake a ski pole at. Even its major cities are surrounded by peaks, geothermal hot springs, and astounding canyons, nicely balancing out the skyscrapers, sports arenas, and museums. If you’re wondering what to do for outdoor fun in the Centennial State, look no further than this list of the best things to do in Colorado.