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Norwegian Air Sees Potential Bidders Beyond British Airways Parent

Christopher Jasper and Richard Weiss, Bloomberg

Let the takeover gamesmanship begin. After IAG started building a stake in Norwegian Air, the airline said Thursday it has other potential serious suitors. Investors are already winning. Shares are up 15 percent.

8 hours ago

Southwest Engine Maker Wanted Inspections Before Tragedy

Mary Schlangenstein and Alan Levin, Bloomberg

It turns out CFM International, the manufacturer of the engine that tore apart on the Southwest jet last week, was preparing to request inspections before a passenger lost her life on the flight. That was based on an extremely rare failure on the same engine type in 2016. Will reforms be coming for safety inspections?

2 days ago

FAA Calls For Emergency Inspections of Engines After Southwest Fatality

Julie Johnsson and Alan Levin , Bloomberg

It had been nine years since a fatality occurred onboard a U.S. airline. Regulators are scrambling to ensure a similar tragedy doesn't occur again by ordering emergency inspections of the engine type on the Southwest jet that did an emergency landing in Philadelphia. Smart move.

6 days ago

Marriott’s Unified Loyalty Program Reflects Its Amazon-Like Ambitions in Travel

Nikki Ekstein, Bloomberg

The biggest challenge for brands like Marriott and others who want to enter the tours-and-activities/in-destination space, will be changing consumers' behavior and how they think about booking those all important experiences.

1 week ago

Travelport Faces Dramatic Changes if Activist Investor Gets His Way

Sean O'Neill, Skift

The last thing travel tech giant Travelport needs is to be sold to private equity. It's still digging out from all the debt Blackstone saddled it with. Our best guess is that it will be forced to partly sell eNett, a payments business.

4 weeks ago

Announcing the Editorial Program for Skift Forum Europe

Rafat Ali, Skift

We are one month away from the second Skift Forum Europe! On April 26, 2018, we're bringing the brightest minds in travel to Berlin. Don't miss your chance to join us in Europe!

1 month ago

Taking Personalization Up a Level

Patrick Whyte, Skift

Wealthy tourists are happy to flash a helluva lot of cash to ensure what they are doing has rarely – if ever – been done before.

2 months ago

Thailand Company Becomes World’s Most-Valuable Airport Operator

Anuchit Nguyen and Lee Miller, Bloomberg

This is good news for Thailand as the government said it was investing $6 billion in its airports last year, but some analysts remain cautious.

4 months ago

Trump Erroneously Takes Credit for 2017 Airline Safety Mark

Ryan Beene and Alan Levin, Bloomberg

The buck stops in the oval office, but Trump had absolutely no influence over aviation safety in 2017. Let's see how the President's drive to reduce regulation impacts aviation safety this year, and whether an infrastructure law gets passed that invests in modernizing the U.S. air traffic control system.

4 months ago

Five Challenges Keeping Travel Startup Leaders Up At Night

Amadeus + Skift

What keeps travel startup founders up at night? According to the results of our new travel startup survey, fledgling travel businesses face a variety of obstacles, including finding the right people, misunderstanding market dynamics, weak business models and challenges with data complexity.

5 months ago

Uber Lost $1.5 Billion in the Third Quarter So Can It Be Profitable?

Eric Newcomer, Bloomberg

Can Uber ever be profitable? One thing is clear: The company will have to find a way to ensure its big payouts for legal woes become truly one-time — and not ongoing — expenses.

5 months ago

Alitalia Uniforms Get Second Makeover in 2 Years Despite Being Broke

Chiara Albanese, Bloomberg

Alitalia claims that its second uniform redesign in the past two years will not cost the airline any money. Maybe this kind of thinking is among the myriad reasons it's now insolvent? Just wondering.

5 months ago