Skift Originals

Airlines are dreaming of the day when they can ditch the complicated, heavy, and expensive seat-back entertainment systems for profit-generating bring-your-own-device systems.

"Our job at Tourism Australia is as creator, co-creator, curator and syndicator of this content." That's surely nirvana-level social media marketer talk right there.

Travelers already sweat the safety issues inherent in congested airspace, and the planned introduction of unmanned aircraft, some of which are prone to jamming of their GPS, will only heighten concerns.

The best ones have the ability to inspire us to travel, even if the videos themselves aren't slotted as such. That also explains the paradox of building any organized effort around travel inspiration, such as startups in the space.

Many travel companies are removing Facebook booking apps after discovering that a conversational soft-sell in social media often is more effective than in-your-face reservations apps.

AirTran's flights will be eliminating bag fees even faster than Southwest can repaint the planes.

The new American could be asked to make few divestitures in the merger process with most routes and hubs located in strategic, rather than competing, locations around the U.S.

OK, that was easy:) The merger sets the stage for a new era in U.S. aviation history as legacy carriers have been whittled down to three. Who's next? Southwest (nah, preoccupied with AirTran at the moment). Alaska Airlines, Frontier, JetBlue?

Air Pacific's rebranding as Fiji Air is inspiring, but it's hard to see a non-bumpy path to success for a leader who can't manage labor. Just ask Tom Horton.