United’s New Drinking Policy and 6 Other Aviation Trends This Week

United Airlines Now Tells Pilots No Drinking for 12 Hours Before Shift Starts: United’s change is a sensible move. People should feel more comfortable knowing United’s pilots must take their final drink 12 hours prior to reporting for duty, rather than eight. That said, some pilots may still make mistakes.

Cathay Pacific Falls in Line With China as Hong Kong Airport Protests Turn Violent: Cathay Pacific has followed Chinese regulator demands through the saga. Why? It’s a business decision.

Why Europe’s Short-Haul Aviation Market Is in Flux: Too many airlines fighting over what is essentially a single market has been a familiar complaint within the European airline industry over the last few years. The legacy airlines, in particular, are still working out how best to compete.

What If Hong Kong Falls? The Worst-Case Scenario for Travel: As weeks of protests escalate in Hong Kong and Beijing weighs its options, it’s not hard to imagine Hong Kong’s successful tourism industry becoming a shell of its former self. Though the conventional wisdom from region insiders is that Hong Kong will prevail, the form that it will take is anyone’s guess.

TUI Profit Takes a Hit From Max Grounding: The Max grounding overshadowed a decent set of results. TUI will be hoping the safety issues are ironed out well in advance of next summer, the period when profits can be the most robust.

Sabre’s Deal With Spirit Underscores Its Airline Tech Rebound: Spirit’s decision to buy more airline technology from Sabre signals two things. Sabre has overcome a sales slump. And Spirit is investing to cope with its growth.

AirPortr Raises $8.6 Million for Luggage Delivery: Travel Startup Funding This Week: Investors have bet on some innovative business models. AirPortr has hand-delivered about 100,000 bags from homes to airports, lifting a worry off the hands of Londoners as they pass through airport security. PaulCamper is an Airbnb for RVs. Meanwhile, SleepBox converts spare hotel rooms into video game halls and other social zones for college students.