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The arms race in premium lounges continues this year as the majors fight for the most valuable premium flyers.

The merger of US Airways and American Airlines is now a done deal. That was easy. Now comes the hard part.

UK has been aggressive in promoting the country internationally, and spending enough to make sure the visitor numbers rise. But it has lots of macro challenges, including promoting rest of the country outside of London, fixing the country's inbound airport hubs, loosening the visa regime, and more.

Amadeus has long been involved in incubating startup-like ventures within the company, but will now do so with a more deliberate strategy to forge closer relationships with young companies that it feels are worth associating with.

Tom Horton may be losing reigns of the world's largest airline, but he's walking away with the knowledge that he helped seal an industry-shaking deal and that a plump severance package awaits.

Beyond the ping pong and well-designed interiors is a clear-eyed hotelier who knows both his clientele and where the hotel industry is heading.

Russian tourism is a mix of low end beach+shopping and very high end luxury, and countries who have traditionally not paid much attention to the market are increasingly going to, especially Western Europe.