Canadian Airlines’ U.S. Woes, Amex’s Biz Travel Buy and IndiGo’s First Long-Hauls

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Skift Daily Briefing Podcast
Listen to the day’s top travel stories in under four minutes every weekday.Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, March 7. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Canadian airlines are responding in different ways to trade tensions with the U.S., write Contributor Christine Mao and Airlines Reporter Meghna Maharishi.
Porter Airlines, Canada’s third-largest airline, has temporarily halted all marketing efforts promoting U.S.-bound trips. Porter President Kevin Jackson anticipates that overall bookings may be lower than initially expected in 2025 due to the rising tensions. Meanwhile, ultra-low-cost carrier Flair Airlines is using the tariffs as fodder for a marketing strategy to increase sales to non-U.S. destinations.
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An Air Canada executive said during a call with analysts in February that the carrier plans to reduce capacity to certain U.S. leisure markets starting this month.
Next, American Express announced plans on Thursday to acquire Center, a startup platform for expense management, writes Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes.
Center says its platform is designed to automate accounting tasks and give businesses real-time visibility into employee spending. American Express said it would work to create an expense management platform using Center’s talent and technology. American Express currently uses third-party platforms, including Concur and Emburse, for its expense management services.
Finally, Indian carrier IndiGo confirmed on Thursday that Amsterdam and Manchester will be its first long-haul destinations, reports Airlines Editor Gordon Smith.
The nonstop routes to both cities from Delhi, which are due to begin in July, will operate three times a week. Smith notes that IndiGo will use Boeing 787-9 planes sourced from Norse Atlantic Airways. IndiGo hinted that it could increase service to the two cities when more Norse planes join its fleet.
Smith adds IndiGo’s launch of long-haul services comes as Indian airlines capture a growing share of the country’s international passenger traffic.