More Changes For United’s Management Team — Skift Business Traveler

What to Know Now

Barely a year into his tenure as CEO of United, Oscar Munoz is “shaking up” his executive team. In part, the updates are a necessity — United’s CFO position has been empty since a resignation in 2015 and the current Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) is retiring at the end of this year. But new blood in both of those positions will mean a better focus on the bottom line and hopefully a better experience for passengers.

Andrew Levy (formerly from Allegiant) will soon join United as CFO while Julia Haywood will join as CRO when the current executive steps down at the end of the year. In the meantime, United continues to improve across the board from employee contracts to on time performance. Passengers are surely next in line.

Social Quote of the Day

I cry “foul!” Since when is filling a 1 1/2 year old vacancy a “shake up?” Could we possibly get back to reporting the news without sensationalizing EVERYTHING?

– CA3 on Business Insider

Airlines

Southwest Wants to Start Working With More International Airlines: Southwest Airlines seeks to negotiate new codeshare and interline agreements with international airlines that would allow many long-haul customers arriving from Europe, Asia, or elsewhere to transfer to Southwest domestic flights on the same ticket, executives said in an interview. Read more at Skift

Thai Airways Tries to Plot Path to Growth With New Aircraft: After a five-year austerity drive, Thai Airways International Pcl is ready to expand again. Read more at Skift

It’s time to publicly shame United Airlines’ so-called online security: The thing that bumbling bureaucrats like United’s security team never seem to realize is: you don’t make your systems more secure by making them hard to use. Read more at TechCrunch

Cathay Pacific Can’t Find Enough Premium Passengers in Hong Kong: Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., Asia’s biggest international carrier, says it’s getting tougher to find premium fliers from Hong Kong. Read more at Skift

Airports

More Flights and Cheaper Tickets on the Way for U.S.-Mexico Routes: Most restrictions on flights between the U.S. and Mexico lifted on Sunday, a change expected to bring more options and possibly lower prices for travelers. Read more at Skift

The Airport Beacon Revolution – Digital Marketing News This Week:  It turns out beacons, which help marketers pinpoint the location of smartphone-using travelers and deliver content as they move through various real-world locations, are increasingly becoming a must-have tool for airports looking to improve passenger services. Read more at Skift

American Airlines Is Struggling With On-Time Performance: Among U.S. airlines, American Airlines finished last in on-time arrival performance in June, a poor ranking for a carrier that has emphasized running a reliable operation. Read more at Skift

Tech

London Finally Gets Late-Night Weekend Subway Service: The world’s oldest underground rail network took a big step forward this weekend when the “tube” started all-night Friday and Saturday services after years of obstruction and delay. Read more at Skift

Low-Cost Airlines Make Big Bets on Data and Personalization: Europe’s low-cost airlines once mocked the air miles programs run by flag carriers as expensive relics of a bygone era. But after watching wide-eyed as customer databases were valued at billions of dollars, they are scrambling to catch up. Read more at Skift

How Technology Can Help You Travel and Save: Technology has changed the way we travel, from lodging to flight information. But it can also save us money on planning and beyond. Read more at The New York Times

Uber’s Self-Driving Cars to Start Transporting Passengers in Pittsburgh: Ride-hailing service Uber says it will start hauling passengers with self-driving cars on the streets of Pittsburgh in next several weeks. Read more at Skift

Hotels

Robert De Niro’s Hotel Business Expands to London: Robert De Niro has won planning permission for a luxury hotel in London’s Covent Garden area. Read more at Skift

Thomas Cook Continues to Reshape Its Business With Hotel Outsourcing Deal: Thomas Cook is stepping up the remodelling of its travel offering with a deal to outsource around 3,000 hotel contracts. Read more at Skift

The New Los Angeles Hotel Handcrafted for Cocktail Snobs: Someone get David Kaplan a drink. The 34-year-old co-mastermind behind New York’s cult bar Death & Co. and the recently opened Skyfall at the Delano Las Vegas, among others, is finally opening his next Los Angeles nightspot—a literal night spot. Ten rooms attached to Koreantown cocktail destination Normandie Club and its smaller, reservation-only back lounge, the Walker Inn. Read more at Skift

Does Dubai Really Need Another Big Luxury Hotel? Dubai has made a global reputation for itself as the home of a number of impressive, over-the-top luxury hotels, and its newest hotel, currently under construction, fits the bill perfectly. Read more at Skift

Your Turn

An interesting debate has cropped up over the value of western video bloggers in North Korea. Start your journey down the rabbit hole here.

Tips and Comments

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

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