Holiday scrambles are Christmas music to airlines, according to Robert Isom, president of American Airlines, and a member of the Association of Flight Attendants
A holiday scramble that is more dispersed, with lower peaks, is also Christmas music to airlines’ ears. “We can become much more efficient because demand is regularly high at all periods,” Robert Isom, the CEO of American Airlines, said at an event hosted by the travel news site Skift in November. That means airlines and hotels, still short of pilots and cleaners and attendants, may not need to turn over planes and rooms as quickly as during a traditional holiday crunch. It may be possible for companies to take more bookings because of less intense competition for seats on certain days. “This is going to help us operationally,” Ed Bastian, the CEO of United Airlines, said as he explained the phenomenon to investors this fall.
Less happily, the changes could mean fewer breaks for travel workers. The president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA stated that it made the holidays a bit harder. We used to have our own vacations and work hours. Now, flights are full all the time. This makes it hard to get to work or utilize the benefits that come with our jobs.”
Unlocking the World: Where to Travel and Where to Stay if You’re in the Way of Asia and New Developments in Air Transportation
The weekly newsletter from CNN Travel is known as “unlocking the world”. The latest in destinations opening, inspiration for future adventures, where to stay, and aviation are some of the things you’ll find on this page.
Risks remain though. Aviation’s control over wars, global and regional recession, Covid resurgence, changed travel patterns, the climate crisis and many other factors are outside of their control.
The International Air Transport Association has projected that global airlines will return to profitability in 2023 for the first time in four years, even as economic growth continues to slow.
But that could change soon, thanks to the removal of strict Covid-19 quarantine and testing requirements in China, reopening the world’s largest pool of global travelers. The World Tourism Organization thinks international tourist arrivals could touch 80% to 95% of pre-pandemic levels this year, “depending on the extent of the economic slowdown, the ongoing recovery of travel in Asia and the Pacific, and the evolution of the Russian offensive in Ukraine.”
Another big question is Russia. Russian airlines were forbidden from many countries’ airspace in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The flights between Europe and east Asia must either fly north of the conflict zone or south of it, depending on which part of the world you are in. As a result, many European and Asian airlines cut their services.
It means that there are less flights between Europe and Asia, and a lot of airlines with aircraft that were going to be used on those routes are now looking to find another use for them.
New routes between North America and Europe are already taking flight, with the big three transatlantic joint venture airline cartels — corresponding roughly to the Oneworld, Star Alliance and SkyTeam alliances, and which have been allowed to coordinate pricing between their members — adding many new routes and beefing up existing services.
If you see a new nonstop flight open up, you might want to take advantage of it. If European airlines regain access to Russian airspace and demand returns to China, new nonstops might go back to requiring a layover.
The long rumored merger between Oneworld and China Southern seems to have gained traction recently, but Virgin Atlantic is expected to join Delta in the SkyTeam alliance early in 2023. It will give the airlines’ partners and their passengers new connections.
The COMAC C919, China’s first modern narrowbody airliner is expected to enter passenger service as 2022 ticks over into 2023. It’s unlikely that the new plane will offer passengers a different experience than those on comparable planes such as the Boeing and A320, despite being seen as a major challenge to Western manufacturers.
We may see new aircraft variants announced. Airbus has been making positive noises about the much-rumored stretch of its small narrowbody A220 jet airliner, popular with passengers thanks to its wide seats, big bins and large windows.
In 2023 a lot of people will be planning their big bucket-list getaways, which is the year we started traveling again. Clint Henderson is a managing editor at The Points Guy.
The vice president of cabin marketing forEADS tells CNN that the increasing number of Airspace cabin equipped aircraft entering the market will mean more and more passengers will benefit from comfort features. This is going to be important for me in the next five years — it is going to bring these innovations to a growing number of passengers.
He expects there will be a wave of digital waves in the daily business of airlines. A more connected airline offers more information and more self-service options, helping to avoid airport lines or long waits on the phone.
The Airlines Look Ahead: Fueling the Airline Interiors with Sustainable Fuels and a Sustainable Future: Martin Darbyshire from Tangerine
The huge and popular. The A380 will be coming back into service. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad is the latest airline to bring its A380s back, which means more wider seats in economy on this big, quiet plane. It’s great news for travelers.
Two variants of Boeing’s 737 MAX airplane, the shorter MAX 7 and the double-stretched MAX 10, are currently in certification limbo with an end-of-year deadline looming.
US regulators want Boeing to install more safety systems. That will be expensive for Boeing, not least because it contractually promised some airlines that it wouldn’t need to do so in order to avoid them having to spend time and money training pilots on the differences.
This won’t likely have any short term impact on passengers, but airlines’ longer term plans to use these planes to replace older ones and to start new routes may be delayed.
In 2023, airports will be able to let go of the “liquid ban,” meaning that anything that’s labeled liquid-paste-cream-gel can be carried in a zip-lock plastic bag.
Fliers may already have experienced early versions of the scanners that allow you to leave your liquid bag and electronics in your hand luggage, but these are rolling out more widely. These are going to be introduced in airports in the UK.
There is growth in sustainable aviation fuels made from a variety of sources. Virgin Atlantic plans to use the first trans-Atlantic carbon “net-zero” flight powered by a single engine in 2023, following similar projects by other airlines.
We talked to cabin designer Martin Darbyshire from tangerine, the design agency responsible for many of the most innovative cabins in recent times, who highlights that, “as designers we have a responsibility to remove complexity, weight and cost, and deliver longer lasting and more repairable, and recyclable solutions for the airline interiors industry. society owes it to our clients to make it happen.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/aviation-lookahead-2023/index.html
2023: CNN Travel’s Top Ten Best Places to Visit (and Not to Visit) in 2023 — After CNN, Angkor Wat and the Taj Mahal
It is staggering that it has taken so long, he says. Without a shadow of a doubt 2023 onwards will be dominated by environmental, social and corporate governance.”
CNN Travel’s roundup of best places to visit in 2023 might help you decide your itinerary. For the next year, we’re looking at spots in Switzerland, Tanzania and Brazil.
As the last region to open up after Covid, Asia is top of mind for travelers. If you’ve already written about some of the popular destinations such as Angkor Wat and the Taj Mahal and want to go deeper into Asia, you’re in the right place.
Despite being told that United Airlines had lost her luggage, her tracking device shows that her bag had been going to Mcdonald’s and local malls. She traced it to a residential address.
Szybala’s bag went missing after she had a flight in the Southwest hub. There were still passengers waiting for their luggage to be located two weeks after the Southwest debacle, according to CNN.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/travel-news-book-2023-vacations-now/index.html
The most punctual airlines and airports of 2023 — Sarah and her husband, Sarah, stayed at the hotel Chelsea, London, and England’s Cliveden House
Power went out on New Year’s Day in the Philippines, stranding thousands at the largest airport. Some operators have better records than others, and that’s no guarantee that a trip will go smoothly. Here are the most punctual airlines and airports of 2022 — and a lot of them are in the US.
Fans of the popular show “The White Lotus” know that a luxury hotel in a dramatic setting is the perfect location for romantic assignations. Here’s the true story behind Sicily’s San Domenico Palace, the five-star resort that’s as much a star of the show as its A-list cast.
Other legendary hotels with scandalous stories to tell include the New York bohemian hangout Hotel Chelsea, the Ritz Paris — where Coco Chanel got cozy with Nazis — and England’s Cliveden House, where an affair began that brought down a government. Take a look at the history of the hotels.
A passenger at the New York JFK airport tried to smuggle gun parts into the country by hiding them in peanut butter jars. His checked bag triggered an alarm in the X-ray unit.
A woman got probation and a $9,123 restitution charge for interfering with American Airlines crew during a flight in 2021, which just so happens to be the worst year on record for unruly airline passenger behavior.
We wouldn’t normally advocate chatting to strangers deep in the woods, but that’s exactly what Sarah and her husband did, they met along the Appalachian Trail back in 2015. Here’s their story.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/travel-news-book-2023-vacations-now/index.html
Hygge vibes in the aftermath of the February 21st Airborne Outbreak: CNN Underscored’s look at America’s most comfortable travelers
If you’re on the road, you can take those hygge vibes with you with the right travel blanket. The 19 warmest and most comfortable people have been summarized by our partners at CNN Underscored.
In the meantime, Flybe’s administrators look as if they might get a temporary operating license from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority. The company is said to be being nosing around by two major airlines.
The average traveler probably wouldn’t recognize names such as Jet Time, NokScoot or Fly My Sky but the big names went down in the outbreak, for example, Alitalia. (The country now has a successor: ITA Airways.) Air Namibia – another national flag-carrier – also went under in 2021.
In this climate, even the lowest-cost providers can increase their prices. Ryanair, which has been capturing market share from rival carriers, expects it will be able to raise prices for flights over Easter and the summer due to strong demand from American and Asian tourists and less competition from other airlines.
It is no longer possible to fly to certain destinations if you are on a budget. The increase in cost to New Zealand for example is 81% while the cost to South Africa is up 42% in economy and 70% in business. There is a context for both destinations. In February 2022, New Zealand was closed and while South Africa was at the center of the Omicron variant.
Booking levels for air travel are still lagging behind pre-pandemic levels. From the beginning of the year through February 2, global flight reservations remained 22% behind the same period in 2019, according to data from ForwardKeys, a travel analytics firm.
It isn’t set to last. If external factors don’t intervene, the summer season can be extremely busy, says the vice president of ForwardKeys.
The rise and fall of air transport in the era of the Alitalia and Flybe pandemics: An insight from a local perspective
“I was surprised to see the Alitalia brand go – not because it was in a healthy state, it had been a financial basket case for so long, but because nevertheless it had carried on and on,” says Miquel Ros, AllPlane’s founder and editor.
He adds that the past three years have seen a “lot of launches,” too. Of course, of those newbies, Flybe’s second iteration and Flyr are already out of the picture.
That model of air transport management has been adopted by the rest of the world as a result of the pandemic, says Suau-Sanchez, senior lecturer in air transport management at the Cranfield University and the Open University of Catalonia in Spain.
He says that Europe has more players in the market and they are more subject to external forces.
Regional airports have taken a hit during the pandemic, too, he warns, with airlines concentrating on larger hubs to accelerate recovery. Business travel has taken a huge hit and business travelers are core clients for regional airports. Losing a few passengers can be a big problem when the market is small.
For Morrison, European shorthaul has already stabilized, with decent fares. “Demand is pretty robust, competition is high, and the market is functioning,” he says.
The high prices are down to supply and demand being different at the moment. Longhaul fares are more expensive at the moment and that’s because they can charge a premium.
On the plus side, he believes that it won’t be forever: “All being equal, fares will go down. I don’t think you’ll be able to fly from London to New York for less than $200. I think prices will go down over the course of the year.
People are packing their bags after a long period of time at home. People are looking for ways to keep costs down, from shorter trips to avoiding high-end hotels.
“You have real wage contractions in quite a lot of markets,” Axel Hefer, CEO of search platform Trivago, told CNN. “What that means is you need to save money somewhere.”
Travelers are also looking into less expensive destinations. People who use Trivago’s platform have shown interest in the countries of Morocco and Portugal.
Meanwhile, domestic travel remains strong in countries like the United Kingdom, which has seen big swings in the pound in recent months. Currency fluctuations can make it harder to plan for future trips abroad.
Hefer said he expected a surge in people traveling from China to top cities in Asia, Europe and North America over the summer. That would boost prices for hotels and flights. Airfares have already increased sharply year over year due to ongoing labor shortages and delays in the delivery of commercial jets.
Tour operator TUI said Tuesday that booking figures for the past four weeks were above pre-Covid levels, with higher average prices. The company noted that it hosted 3.3 million customers in its first quarter, up from 2.3 million a year earlier, and that it had 8.7 million bookings for the current winter and summer seasons.