Top Stories
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What does Amsterdam’s airport know that Europe’s other airports don’t?
TransportSkytrax released its annual World Airport Awards this week with one airport taking an impressive leap to the top. Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport shook up the top three regime for the first time in six years to take its spot as the world’s third-best airport following Singapore Changi and Incheon International. It was also the only non-Asian airport in the [...]
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U.S. airlines on-time performance rankings: Virgin tops, United worst
TransportU.S. airlines scored their second best performance last year in the more than two decades that researchers have been measuring airline quality, with Virgin America the leader, says an annual report released Monday (full report embedded below). The report ranked the 14 largest U.S. airlines based on on-time arrivals, mishandled bags, consumer complaints and passengers [...]
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Richard Branson Q&A: What I love about travel
SkiftXSir Richard Branson founded the Virgin Group in 1970 and Virgin Atlantic in 1984, which starts flights from Heathrow to Manchester, Edinburgh and Aberdeen this week. His new safari camp, Mahali Mzuri, opens in Kenya in July. First holiday memory? Salcombe in Devon. I remember it because it was the holiday when I learnt to [...]
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Atlanta’s airport once again tops list of busiest U.S. airports
TransportAtlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport continued its run as the busiest U.S. airport as its 2012 enplaned passengers rose 3.3% to 45.7 million, according to the rankings from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics announced earlier today. Phoenix dropped two slots in 2012 compared with the prior year and Charlotte cracked the top ten in eighth place after just missing [...]
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Biggest hotel groups and brands of 2013: American companies still dominate
RoomsThis would not come as a surprise to any watcher of the global hotel industry, but American and then European companies still dominate the rankings of the biggest hotel groups and brands as of 2013, according to a survey by hospitality research and consulting firm MKG Group. No change at the top with British chain IHG [...]
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Cruise travel agency compiles list of pettiest passenger complaints
TransportA cruise agent has revealed some of the most unusual complaints it has received in the past year. Following the widely documented debacle with the Carnival Triumph back in February, cruise companies appear to be seeing the funny side of things again. Online cruise travel agency www.bonvoyage.com has revealed a top ten list of the [...]
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Istanbul’s airport is growing faster than any other major hub
TransportIstanbul airport posted the biggest jump in passenger numbers among the world’s major hubs last year, expanding almost one-third faster than the next-best performer as it captures traffic from Europe rivals. Istanbul’s near 21 percent increase in passenger numbers to 45.1 million made it one of only six airports among the top 30 to post [...]
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How hotels can score a fifth star from Forbes Travel Guide
DigitalIt may not come as a surprise that California — a sun-splashed magnet for celebrities and big-spending tourists — leads the nation in the number of hotels winning five-star ratings from Forbes Travel Guide. But winning the coveted rating is no easy feat. Only 58 hotels in the U.S. — with 12 in California — [...]
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Americans get half the vacation time yearly as Russians. Go figure
OriginalRussia offers the most vacation days and public holidays combined (40) on average while Mexico has the least (13), according to a new Hotels.com study. The U.S. falls way down the list, taking 25th place out of 30 countries analyzed, with just 20 days of vacation days and federal holidays. Mexico’s last-place status isn’t necessarily [...]
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The Travel Marketing Awards UK: Best ads and campaigns of 2013
DestinationsThe Travel Marketing Awards, the annual awardfest out of London, gave out its 2013 awards this evening in London, and we’ve collected some of the winners’ work below. Most of these are UK companies, and focused primarily travel agents and tourism. Best TV ads category, the shortlist Haven Holidays First Choice Thomson’s Kuoni: Special Occasions [...]