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Skift means “change” or “transformation” in Nordic languages and we have a lot of that going on in today’s stories. Europe Editor Patrick Whyte’s second installment in our “Resetting Transatlantic Travel” series features interviews with Freddie Laker’s son, plus the CEOs of Norwegian and Wow Air, on how low-cost, long-haul flights are turning the market on its head. Meanwhile, United CEO Oscar Munoz has been trying to transform that legacy carrier but he won’t necessarily be taking on the chairman’s role in 2018, as planned.
InterContinental Hotel Group’s Holiday Inn brand is breaking with its traditional – shall we say, stodgy -- notion of room design and is introducing a new room type for the “Millennial Mindset,” including older folks who channel that sort of thinking. You can sort through today’s stories for some timely inspiration.— Dennis Schaal, Executive Editor
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For economic reasons, the transatlantic aviation market has been a hotbed of innovation since the first direct flight almost 100 years ago. Building on the foundations set before, the new disrupters believe we are on the verge of a huge change. Will it last?
Google has all the tools, including a giant search engine, to make its mark in hotel metasearch and its competitors are starting to really feel it. The only hope for rivals is a hail Mary to regulators — or to focus on being faster and better.
Has "Millennial mindset" just become a euphemism for "smart" and "decent" these days? Either way, it's welcome, especially when it comes to hotel design.
Like them or not, basic economy fares are here to stay. And United is expanding them throughout its domestic markets.
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It's easy to blame this on the incident last week in Chicago. And perhaps the two things are related. But it's not a big surprise Munoz will not become board chair next year. He had a heart transplant last year, and he has been reducing his role over time.
Sadly, it seems the TSA is still far away from recognizing that its policy requiring travelers to assume a gender when passing through security causes distress to many members of the LGBTQ community.
Hotelbeds appears determined to buy up the competition in order to retain its dominant position. What is unclear though is what happens to Kuoni Group once the transaction completes as GTA represents almost two-thirds of its turnover. Will it continue on as a smaller company or continue to be broken up?