What to Know Now

Carry on bags have always been a contentious issue between airlines and passengers. Airlines have only so much space in overhead bins and passengers looking to skip out on checked baggage fees are increasingly trying to bring more on board.

Enforcement really has been the biggest variable in the battle. Gate agents are too busy or lazy to measure bags during boarding, so many passengers think its a free for all — until they get caught.

But the San Francisco Chronicle‘s Spud Hilton may have a solution: Carry on Shame. His new campaign encourages passengers to snap a photo of others breaking the rules and share it to Instagram, Twitter, or Vine with the hashtag #CarryonShame. He’s aggregating all of the entries into the Twitter handle @CarryOnShame.

It’s a good way to educate the public on what the proper metrics are for carrying on luggage — albeit a bit sarcastically. In the meantime, I’ll stick to my Whole Foods carry on.

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Top Story

The era of the jumbo jet may be coming to a close. Thanks to massive new growth in the regional jet game and the efficiencies of the B787 and A350, there’s little need for a mega jumbo jet (unless you’re trying to prove something) these days.

I suppose we should be thankful that the industry is continuing to optimize. But a small part of me will always miss ascending the stairs to the 747’s top deck — there’s something exclusive and exciting about it. Perhaps passengers of the next generation will look forward to the Skycouch instead.

Social Quote of the Day

Does any reasonable person think this red duffle is a “personal item”? @VirginAmerica #CarryonShame

Spud Hilton, Travel Editor, SF Chronicle

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Airlines

Some Airlines Letting Passengers Eat Their Meals Before Boarding The Plane: THE most important fact to remember about airline food is that it is guaranteed to taste worse than food on the ground. That’s not an opinion; it’s science. Dry aeroplane air and pressurised cabins combine to ensure that passengers taste food less at altitude. So what is the cheapest and easiest way to make airline food more agreeable? Eat it on the ground. Read more at The Economist

Airline Summit Demonstrates the Power Shift to Gulf Carriers: Qatar sealed its position at the center of a new aviation map this week as host to the annual meeting of the global airline industry’s International Air Transport Association (IATA), but the Gulf country and its neighbors drew criticism from rivals about trade and investment policies. Read more at Skift

Delta upgrades Economy Comfort flights out of New York-JFK: Delta Air Lines Inc. customers will receive upgraded amenities in Economy Comfort including complimentary pillows, blankets and food options on all flights from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport, San Francisco International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The changes started Wednesday. Read more at the Atlanta Business Chronicle

Spike in Misbehaving Flyers Prompts Industry Group to Draw Up New Rules: The number of in-flight incidents involving unruly passengers jumped to about 8,000 last year, prompting the aviation industry’s trade group to call on governments and airports to penalise offenders. Read more at Skift

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Airports

Heathrow’s New Terminal 2 Welcomes Its First Flights: London Heathrow‘s £2.5bn new Terminal 2 (T2) has received its first passengers as a transatlantic jet arrived from Chicago. Read more at Skift

California Airport Uses Passenger Pledges to Woo New Airline: When SkyWest Airlines flight UA5453 departs Modesto Airport on Wednesday afternoon, it will be the carrier’s last local flight and the first time in decades that the airport has not had commercial passenger service.  And the city’s effort to land another carrier is up in the air. Read more at Skift

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Tech

This is the First Google Glass App to Let Users Book Hotels: Although Google Glass has yet to take off with the public, travel companies are eager to develop and launch products for the hardware early. Read more at Skift

In-Flight Wi-Fi Called “Scarce Commodity” as Gogo, Boingo Deal Ends: Gogo, the Itasca-based provider of inflight Wi-Fi, has discontinued its deal to provide roaming Internet access for customers of Boingo, which provides Wi-Fi in airports, according to a notice sent to Boingo customers Monday. Read more at Skift

Air China Upgrades In-Flight Wi-Fi Speeds With New Honeywell Agreement: Mobile devices have become part of people’s daily life nowadays and many passengers bring their devices aboard, but without in-flight WiFi service, they only can play Angry Birds game during the boring flight period. Read more at Skift

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Hotels

Interview: Inside Hilton’s Attempt at an Independent Hotel Collection: Hilton Hotels made a late move into the independent hotel sector this week with the announcement of its Curio Collection, a small group of independent, iconic properties that will soon have access to the Hilton distribution model. Read more at Skift

La Quinta Rethinks Design to Appeal to Guests’ Health, Productivity Desires: La Quinta Inns & Suites  introduced a new design model today that incorporates most of the popular hospitality trends today.  Read more at Skift

Marriott’s CEO on the Difficulty of Rejuvenating Old Brands: Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson touts his chain as the largest collection of luxury and lifestyle hotel brands in the world, but here’s a little secret: He concedes that not every property can reflect local culture, and he worries about rejuvenating older brands such as its flagship Marriott, and Courtyard brands. Read more at Skift

Starwood, IHG Execs Worried About Losing Market Share to Airbnb: InterContinental Hotels Group and Starwood executives are concerned about losing market share to Airbnb and appear unsure about the peer-to-peer apartment sharing site’s long-term impact. Read more at Skift

Your turn

Our friend Scott Mayerowitz from the AP has an interesting read on the growing divide between luxury and economy hotels this week. I’d congratulate him on a great article but I’m too busy throwing virtual rice in honor of his wedding this weekend. Congratulations Scott and Sheri.

Tips and Comments

Can be sent to [email protected] and @grantkmartin. We publish the Business Newsletter twice a week on Monday and Thursday.

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Photo credit: Lufthansa's Boeing 747-8 Brandenburg aircraft arrives at Los Angeles International Airport. Nick Ut / Associated Press

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