What Skift Aviation Forum Revealed About Airlines

Good morning from Skift. It’s Monday, November 21. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

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Episode Notes

Global airline leaders convened in Dallas recently for the inaugural in-person Skift Aviation Forum, so what critical industry issues did they discuss at the event? Jay Shabat, senior analyst for Skift brand Airline Weekly, explains in his five key takeaways from the Forum.

Shabat writes that while demand for air travel is strong coming out of the pandemic, new travel patterns have emerged. American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said demand has become more spread out, with increasingly flexible work schedules enabling more people to travel on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. However, Sun Country Airlines CEO Jude Bricker warned it’s premature to draw any definite lessons from the current trend. Bricker said many people travel on Tuesday because they can’t afford to do so on the weekend, adding that peak fares are still high.

Flying more sustainably remains a significant challenge for the airline industry, Shabat also notes. Amelia DeLuca, Delta Air Lines’ vice president for sustainability, said there are no easy or short-term solutions to creating greener aviation. Although the airline industry considers sustainable aviation fuels to be an eventual solution, Sean Donohue, CEO of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, said they aren’t available yet at non-coastal city airports.

We turn now to big news from tours and activities platform GetYourGuide. The company is pausing Originals, its tour brand, to devote more resources to improving the customer experience, writes Travel Experiences Reporter Selene Brophy.

GetYourGuide co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Tao Tao emphatically said it’s not giving up on Originals. It launched Originals four years ago in partnership with local operators in destinations it selected using customer booking data. Tao added GetYourGuide would use that data to enhance the customer experience across the platform’s marketplace. Brophy writes it’s uncertain how Originals will evolve, with Tao only saying the company would reveal more information next year.

However, Tao said the Originals tours have been successful in several areas, including creating what he views as better tour experiences for travelers.

Finally, surging airfares and travel costs are driving lawyers involved in international arbitration cases to conduct virtual hearings again, reports Corporate Travel Editor Matthew Parsons.

Parsons writes that virtual proceedings common during the pandemic are coming back in large numbers, adding they’re a compelling cost saver for all parties. Legal firm IMS Consulting & Expert Services argues platforms like Zoom are making travel an unnecessary business cost when pursuing an international case. Sending three Chicago-based lawyers to London for a single legal proceeding could cost roughly $37,000.