Skift Take

The big three U.S. carriers are excited about their business class products. But it's easy to argue that they are playing catch up.

What to Know Now

Long-haul travelers on Delta Air Lines have a new business class to look forward to: a so-called “suite” configuration, with sliding doors and privacy screens. Unveiled by the carrier this week, the product promises to be among the best business class products in the country — or at least on the aircraft in which the suites are installed.

New cabins are slated for installation in the airline’s upcoming A350 order, which is due next fall, as well as on Delta’s reconfigured 777.

As to Delta’s choice in design, there’s no doubt that the carrier is a step ahead of the domestic competition, but in terms of international product, well, there are still plenty of options out there.

Social Quote of the Day

So Delta took Singapore’s business class seat and added a door and that’s “innovative”. Got it.

@ssegraves | Stephan Segraves, frequent flyer and #avgeek

Airlines

Finnair Is The Latest Airline to Suffer From Waning Demand: Finnair Oyj scaled back plans to add flights this year and said revenue increases will be slower than capacity growth as the airline industry grapples with waning demand. The shares fell the most in almost three years. Read more at Skift

Cathay Pacific Expected to Take Big Loss Over Fuel Hedging Strategy: Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., the marquee Hong Kong airline, suffered millions of dollars in losses from fuel-hedges in the past two years. With the city’s government adding new fees on passengers to fund building a runway, the carrier faces more challenges to retain profit margins. Read more at Skift

Delta’s New Business Class Suites Put It Ahead of Its Competitors, Again: Delta Air Lines soon will introduce a new, enclosed long-haul business class suite — complete with sliding doors for privacy — a product it is betting will help it compare favorably against some of the world’s most popular airlines. Read more at Skift

Virgin Australia CEO Interview: Seats, Innovation and the Chinese Market: Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti is a survivor. Earlier this year, Air New Zealand, then one of Virgin Australia’s key shareholders, tried to remove Borghetti. Air New Zealand CEO Christopher Luxon argued Virgin Australia should bring in another leader to stem the carrier’s losses, according to local media reports. Read more at Skift

Malaysia Plane Aviation Boom

Airports

Brexit Fears and Italian Tax Cuts Bring More Ryanair Flights to Rome and Milan: Ryanair Holdings Plc is adding 10 new aircraft to its Italian network in a move that scales back growth in the U.K. after its vote to exit the European Union. Read more at Skift

Scenes From the Terrifying, Already Forgotten JFK Airport Shooting That Wasn’t: When the first stampede began, my plane had just landed. It started, apparently, with a group of passengers awaiting departure in John F. Kennedy Airport Terminal 8 cheering Usain Bolt’s superhuman 100-meter dash. Read more at NY Magazine

Indonesia Airline Garuda a Step Closer to U.S. Flights After FAA Upgrade: Indonesia, an aviation market with one of the world’s worst safety records, had its air-safety rating upgraded by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, a move that may add momentum to flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia’s expansion plans. Read more at Skift

 

Tech

Advent of Self-Driving Cars Shifts Technology Focus From Detroit to Silicon Valley: For the first time in America’s industrial history, the center for automotive technology is drifting away from Detroit. Read more at Skift

In Search for Perfect Hotel Results, Hipmunk is Latest to Give it a Try: Six-year-old metasearch site Hipmunk quietly began offering desktop-site visitors the ability to enter natural language queries such as, “I want a cheap hotel on the Upper West Side” in a bid to make searching easier and to provide more relevant results. Read more at Skift

Two U.S. Senators Want to Know Why Airline IT Fails so Often: Two U.S. senators seek to learn why U.S. airline computer systems fail so often, and what the nation’s airlines plan to do to fix the problem. Read more at Skift

Domestic In-Flight Entertainment Is Now Free on American, Delta and United: It wasn’t long ago that legacy airlines saw in flight entertainment as a revenue stream along the lines as checked bags, seat selection and onboard snacks. As of this month, however, in-flight entertainment has turned into a free perk thanks to new lower-cost entertainment solutions, heavy competition and deeper pockets across the airline industry. Read more at Skift

White desert hotel antartica living room

Hotels

Steve Wynn Is Betting $4.2 Billion on His Latest Casino Resort: His new property, the Wynn Palace, is his most expensive casino yet — a $4.2 billion wager that the former Portuguese enclave will shake off a two-year slump that’s driven down betting revenue by 36 percent and re-emerge as a first-tier vacation spot for gamblers all over Asia. Read more at Skift

Antarctica’s 5-Star Hotel Gets Refurbished for its November to December Season: Travel to Antarctica has reached fever pitch. Read more at Skift

Hotels Increasingly Offer Safety and Stereotypes in Rooms for Solo Women: Stereotypical perks include fresh flowers, glossy lifestyle magazines, and high-quality beauty products. Read more at Skift

Big Hotel Chains Ditch Full-Service Properties in Favor of the Light-Touch Approach: Is the full-service hotel on its way to becoming obsolete? Not necessarily but when you consider the select service brands that the major chains are focusing on, there is a case to be made that full-service hotels are losing their star power. Read more at Skift

Your Turn

Tim Stevens, the editor of CNET’s Roadshow, is currently road testing the new 911 Turbo. Check out his Twitter feed here.

Tips and Comments

Can be sent to gm[at]skift[dot]com or to @grantkmartin

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Photo credit: Rendering of Delta's promising new business class seat with privacy door. Delta Air Lines

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