United Airlines’ Customer Touch Points and Other Top Stories This Week

United Airlines, Alcohol Wipes and Finding New Customer Touch Points: Some passengers want to talk to people. Some do not. United Airlines wants make sure they all have a choice.

Four Seasons Won’t Let Tech Replace the Human Exchange Expected of Luxury: Luxury brand Four Seasons believes strongly that guests who are spending more money need to be pampered a little, says its chief commercial officer. But it is smart to shy away from certain types of tech because of that?

American Airlines CEO on Tackling the New Travel Patterns: Thanksgiving should be a breeze, operationally speaking, CEO Robert Isom said at Skift Aviation Forum on Wednesday. Where the future of aviation gets interesting is adapting to new flying habits of leisure and business passengers.

Delta to Invest More in the Traveler Experience at the Airport: Airlines often focus on their on-time performance. But a journey of a thousand miles often starts at an airport with a lot of friction. Kudos to Delta for attempting to smooth out some of the typical hassles.

Hilton Surveys Find Guests Define Wellness More Broadly After Pandemic: Wellness talk seems to spread at about the same pace as people’s waistlines. But if you look beneath the averages, you’ll really find a consumer segment that shops for trips that enhance their well-being.

Tripadvisor CEO May Revamp Plus Membership Program: Tripadvisor hasn’t made any decisions about Tripadvisor Plus, but the traveler membership program may reemerge in a different form.

UAE Eyes $122 Billion a Year From Tourism by 2031: Middle East Travel Roundup: Destinations in the Middle East are not just turning to tourism in an effort to diversify their national economies but positioning themselves to compete on a larger scale globally.

Airbnb to Ease Host Sign-Up Process, Add More Search Categories: Airbnb is taking steps to increase its traction with hosts, namely to find new ones and to keep them. Its level of success will depend on how well it executes these changes in practice.

Airlines Want Their Net Zero Pledges to Fly on More Than Fumes: Aviation is becoming a target for policymakers and climate emergency activists. Leaders from Delta, Air France-KLM, and McKinsey have highlighted some heartening ways to address the carbon reduction challenge.

Airline Startups Connect and Breeze Share Early Survival Strategies: Top executives at Connect Airlines and Breeze Airways both alluded to the high-risk nature of the aviation business, but they also said that it’s a good time to start up a carrier. It seems both companies are doing the early heavy lifting they will need to be successful.