In this edition of the Travel News Brief: Delta overhauls boarding process, new flight routes, Virgin pilots extend strike dates to March, Marriott to replace passports for affected clients, hotel rate spike over Super Bowl, Fairfield debuts in Japan, be sure to put your phone on airplane mode in flight, 4 tips for managing employee travel around the holidays and other traveler tips.
With the holiday season upon us, business travel is getting a little more complicated. Time-off requests and a high demand for airline tickets could take a bite out of your end-of-year productivity or make business travel financially difficult. Read More
The Points Guys —Delta announced a major revision of its boarding process…Read More
Travel Mole —Chicago O'Hare, Newark, Washington DC and Cleveland routes announced for 2019…Read More
Bloomberg —A breakaway union of Virgin Atlantic pilots that called strikes during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays extended the job action to the first eight weekends of 2019, according to an emailed statement. Read More
Boarding Area —Delta CEO Ed Bastian told employees about potential growth in Africa…Read More
FlightGlobal —The UK has concluded a new air services agreement with Canada to allow for uninterrupted services between the two countries after Brexit. Read More
Travel Mole —Daily service begins in May 2019…Read More
FlightGlobal —Alaska Airlines has plans in place for larger facilities at its four major bases along the US West Coast. Read More
Business Travel News —United will sell transatlantic Basic Economy fares that are less restrictive than its domestic and short-haul international Basic Economy fares. Read More
Dallas Business Journal —American Airlines will launch a 90-day biometric boarding pilot program at Los Angeles International Airport, using facial scans to confirm travelers' identities and speed up the boarding process. Read More
Travel Pulse —The government is stepping in to straighten out the Marriott mess. Read More
WSBTV Atlanta (video) —Triple room rates forecast for Super Bowl host Atlanta…Read More
Travel Market Report —Facing extensive costs as a result of the breach, Marriott is offering to pay for customers’ new passports and annual identity monitoring subscriptions. Read More
Travel Pulse —Marriott International, Inc., has signed 12 Fairfield by Marriott hotels across five prefectures in Japan – Kyoto, Wakayama, Mie, Gifu, and Tochigi – in a long-standing collaboration with Japanese real estate developer, Sekisui House. Read More
Travel Weekly —U.S. airports and airlines are now increasingly exploring self bag-drop technologies and preparing for the possibility of a rollout. Read More
Travel + Leisure —There’s another reason why you might want to heed those pre-flight warnings – just in case the risk to your personal safety wasn’t quite enough. Read More
Entrepreneur.com —Follow these tips to stay safe while on the road. Read More
Travel Market Report —The public is getting its first glimpse of a brand new, modernized LaGuardia Airport this week, with the opening of 11 gates in a new concourse at Terminal B. Read More
Creative Group —Creative Group has put together a list of 20 innovative event ideas gathered from the most innovative meetings and events. Read More
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