Skift Travel News Blog

Baggage trolleys with built in smart technology have been introduced at Munich Airport, allowing travelers to receive flight information and real time updates via a built in tablet.

The new technology has been launched as part of a six-month pilot project in partnership with Intelligent Track Systems, and are available to use for free within the airport’s Terminal 2.

In order to use the new technology, passengers will need to scan their boarding card or manually input their flight details, and the tablet will then provide access to real-time flight updates. The tablet also acts as an interactive map and guide of the terminal, allowing users to locate airport facilities, such as shops and restaurants.

“Digitalization doesn’t always have to happen in the background. These tablets help our guests find their way around the terminal while ensuring they can always keep an eye on the latest flight information. The project is another element of our premium innovation hub. By connecting the digital and the analog world, it will bring real added value for our passengers,” said Dr. Jan-Henrik Andersson, chief commercial officer of Munich Airport.

The three major United States airlines have canceled flights to Tel Aviv, Israel after Saturday’s deadly attack by Hamas.

Delta Air Lines halted Tel Aviv flights into next week, the company said in a statement to Skift. The airline is working with the U.S. government to aid Americans who want to return to the United States. American Airlines and United Airlines similarly halted Tel Aviv operations, with United telling Reuters, “Our Tel Aviv flights will remain suspended until conditions allow them to resume.”

European airline Lufthansa says all three of its carriers will also cancel all flights to and from Tel Aviv through Monday while it continues to monitor the situation.

In a statement to Skift, British Airways said, “We are continuing to monitor the situation in Israel very closely and have introduced a flexible booking policy, enabling customers to change their travel dates free of charge if they wish.” It said it had canceled Sunday’s flight to Tel Aviv, but that flights in coming days were planned to continue with adjustments to departure times.

More than 700 Israelis have been killed in the fighting, according to the Israel Foreign Ministry on X (formerly Twitter). At least 413 Palestinians have died, the New York Times reported, citing the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Oil prices spiked higher Sunday evening. Israel and Palestine are not big oil producers but the risk is that the conflict could spread to other countries and impact global supply.

Commercial space company Axiom Space has announced an unconventional partnership with Italian fashion house Prada, that will see the two companies join forces to design the spacesuits for NASA’s Artemis III mission. 

The 2025 mission marks two significant milestones, as not only will it be the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 in December 1972, but it will also mark the first time a female astronaut will step foot on the Moon.

According to a release from Axiom Space, engineers at Prada will work alongside their team on the design process for the spacesuits to develop ‘solutions for materials and design features to protect against the unique challenge of space and the lunar environment’. 

“We are thrilled to partner with Prada on the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit,” said Michael Suffredini, CEO of Axiom Space. 

“Prada’s technical expertise with raw materials, manufacturing techniques, and innovative design concepts will bring advanced technologies instrumental in ensuring not only the comfort of astronauts on the lunar surface, but also the much-needed human factors considerations absent from legacy spacesuits.”

As luxury brand partnerships become commonplace across the travel industry, the question now is: will private travelers soon be donning Prada spacesuits for commercial space journeys?

The co-founder of Musement, Claudio Bellinzona, is leaving TUI Musement. He will be taking on an advisory role with the tours and activities arm of Europe’s leading tour operator.

The company confirmed Bellinzona’s exit as chief supply officer and confirmed a new tours and activities commercial team, “focused on strategic business to business partners,” to be headed up by Nishank Gopalkrishnan, previously TUI Musement chief business officer and the team’s newly appointed as chief commercial officer.

Bellinzona leaves TUI five years after it acquired the Milan-based tours and activities startup in 2018. Peter Ulwahn, CEO of TUI Musement, confirmed Bellinzona will continue working with the TUI Musement leadership team on “various new growth opportunities.” as he commended his impact on TUI Musement’s recovery post-pandemic as well as the completed integration of Musement into TUI.

The unification of TUI Musement’s partnerships under one commercial team comes as the division generates 50% of the business’ revenues through distribution partnerships that include OTAs like Booking.com and airlines and hotels. The commercial team’s portfolio development, through API and white-label distribution, will be for TUI Collections, the company’s branded experiences, and third-party experiences.

Michelin Guide, whose star ratings are coveted by restaurants worldwide, said on Thursday it would begin designating “the most exceptional hotels.”

Like with the restaurant rankings, Michelin intends to create a stir by revealing its list of hotels at a ceremony in the first half of 2024.

Unlike its restaurant ratings, Michelin will award its favorites “keys” instead of stars. Michelin will judge hotels by criteria including local character, design, decor, and amenities — among other factors.

Michelin bought the online travel agency Tablet Hotels in 2018. The site’s hotel vetters use guest reviews to help evaluate hotels. For several weeks now, the Guide has been offering a selection of over 5,000 hotels globally on its site, long-listed from top-reviewed properties on Tablet Hotels. This long list of about 5,000 hotels will be the ones Michelin reviewers will use to award “keys.”

United Airlines has announced that it will launch a suite of new tools and policies at the end of 2023 that have been designed to improve the travel experience for customers who use a wheelchair.

The new accessibility initiative will include a digital filter on united.com that will allow travelers to identify aircraft that can accommodate different sized chairs, and a revised refund policy that will adapt flight fares in the event that customers are required to purchase a higher-fare ticket to accommodate a specific wheelchair size. 

“By offering customers an easy way to know if their personal wheelchair fits on a particular airplane, we can give them the peace of mind they deserve when they fly with us,” said Linda Jojo, executive vice president and chief customer officer for United. 

“Plus, collecting this information ahead of time ensures our team can handle these special items with proper care and attention.”

United will also begin a six-month pilot program later this year at George Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport to explore ways in which it can support customers in the event their wheelchair has been damaged or delayed while traveling, in collaboration with its Accessible Travel Advisory Board.

United and the U.S. Department of Transportation will deliver these initiatives through a mutual agreement to increase accessibility for customers who require the use of a wheelchair.

Heathrow has announced that it is trialing an initiative that allows passengers travelling through the airport to pre-book their security slots ahead of their journeys.

It is hoped that the service, known as ‘Heathrow Timeslot‘, will offer travellers more peace of mind when moving through the airport as well as helping to reduce queue times.

Currently live in Terminal 3, the trial is set to run for the next six months and will be open to passengers travelling with American Airlines, Delta, Emirates and Virgin Atlantic.

“Everyone is familiar with airport security, but at Heathrow we’re constantly thinking of innovative ways to boost the safety and streamline the experience for our passengers. This new trial will give passengers that extra added bit of certainty and reassurance ahead of their journey and we think it will be particularly popular for those with families or nervous travellers who may want a bit more confidence in their journeys. We look forward to seeing the data come in to give us some learnings on how we can roll this out more widely across Heathrow,” said Mark Powell, operational planning director at Heathrow.

Is Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky hinting at long-term rentals when he said to expect what could be “the biggest update to Airbnb ever?” 

Chesky told The Financial Times, Airbnb will venture beyond its core travel business. Starting next year, the online rental platform will expand into longer-term housing rentals and enhance its experiences and services offerings like “dining pop-ups.” He added, “there’s an eventual opportunity for Airbnb to become a greater part of your daily life. Not just once or twice a year.”

The Airbnb CEO believes that there’s an untapped market for rentals lasting up to a year, citing the shift towards remote work and extended stays. While only 18% of gross nights booked in the second quarter of this year were for stays longer than 30 days, Chesky sees great potential in extended stays.

This strategic shift comes as Airbnb faces scrutiny from regulators globally over its impact on housing availability in major cities. New York recently introduced rules restricting short-term rentals, but Chesky doesn’t consider it a precedent, emphasizing potential win-win solutions. Airbnb’s future plans also include dining experiences, he told The Financial Times.

Anantara Hotels and Resorts has rolled out its ‘Dollar for Deeds’ program at its properties globally, having originally launched the initiative at select hotels in Thailand almost ten years ago.

The ‘Dollar for Deeds‘ program provides travellers with the opportunity to give back to the local community of a property by pledging a donation to a range of causes that support environmental and community initiatives.

Guests will be able to donate one dollar per night of their stay, with the hotel matching their contribution dollar for dollar and passing the donation on to partners internationally.

One of these initiatives is the IUCN Turtle Beach Protection Programme in Sri-Lanka, for which you can take a look at the video below:

Other initiatives under the program include raising funds for The Princess Sirindhorn Craniofacial Centre at Chulalongkorn Hospital in Bangkok, The Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, coral reef protection in the Maldives and providing vocational training for disabled children in Vietnam and Indonesia.

“Sustainability has long been a key pillar of our operating philosophy and, increasingly, it is not only a global need but also a requirement from both our investors and guests. By making ‘Dollar for Deeds’ accessible globally, we can support more worthy causes around the world while encouraging individual sustainability journeys and changing the definition of purposeful travel in our neighbouring communities and ecosystems.  For the expansion I am particularly proud of the way our properties outside Thailand have embraced the spirit of the programme and chosen amazing local causes to support,” said John Roberts, group director of sustainability & conservation for Minor Hotels, Anantara’s parent company,

TUI Group has consolidated its digital activities in Portugal by opening a new tech center in Porto.

Europe’s largest holiday package tour operator continues to lean into an ambitious digital transformation, with the center set to focus on developing mobile apps, payment systems, and using artificial intelligence across both TUI’s customer-facing and internal services.

In 2017, TUI partnered with IT service provider COCUS to create a Software Development Hub in Portugal. After five years of collaboration, they recently agreed to integrate this software hub into TUI’s organization as a ‘Digital Hub.’

TUI already has tech teams in Poland and India, with the new Porto center adding 150 more tech specialists to its workforce, with plans to grow the Porto team to 200 by the end of 2024.

Portugal is a popular destination for TUI travelers, according to TUI’s CEO, Sebastian Ebel, who said the development “strengthens its position in the country.” Ebel has laid out his intent for TUI’s app to become a one-stop shop for travel.

In a previous interview with Skift, Peter Ulwahn, CEO of TUI Musement, the group’s tours and activities division, commented on the company’s digital transformation, stating,” We were offline before. Now we are transforming the company, and we really want to compete with the other OTA players in the space when it comes to technology.”