Traveling Blog: Aviation Show's Interior Motives + United Plays Catch-Up + Booking's Mixed Messages

April 19, 2018

Editor's Note

Sometimes when an editor greenlights a reporter to attend an industry trade show, the idea of a raucous boondoggle is never far from mind. But how much fun could one really have at the Aircraft Interiors Expo, right? New innovations in beverage carts. Snazzy new carpet colors for jetliners. You get the picture.

But Skift's Brian Sumers is no ordinary aviation reporter, and please, don't even say "av geek." Sumers is a step above, his passion for his work clearly evident in today's entertaining feature on his time at the Hamburg trade show earlier this month. Enjoy. You may never look at seat leather the same way again.

— Tom Lowry, Managing Editor

Digging Deeper Into the Traveler Shift Toward Meaning, Purpose, and Fulfillment

We know how important making industry connections is, so we update the list of companies — now 200+ companies and counting — attending Skift Forum Europe every single day. Are you on the list? Register today to secure your seat!

An Aviation Schmooze Fest Reveals a Passenger's Wish List for Jet Travel

Yes, there's some innovation on display at the annual Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg. But mostly, the three-day show is about networking and building relationships.

United Moving Ahead With Making Business Class More Sleep-Friendly

United's first quarter earnings call was uneventful. For an airline that has had more than its share of drama over the past four years, that's a good thing.

Skift Forum Europe Preview: Booking CMO Adds Apartments to Complex Marketing Mix

Booking.com has a test-and-learn culture, and chief marketing officer Pepijn Rijvers will be doing plenty of that over the next few years as he tries to sort out the complexities of marketing a widely diverse set of accommodation types. Ask anyone, though: It's a great problem to have.

Homeland Security Facial Passenger Scans For U.S. Airports May Go Nationwide

With the oncoming backlash against companies improperly sharing and using data in recent months, facial scans will be a tough sell to many travelers especially if they're implemented by the government.

Meeting Planners and Travel Agents Prepare for a Reinvention Amid Hotel Commission Cuts

Travel agents and meeting planners feel betrayed by Marriott's – and now Hilton's – move to cut commissions on group bookings. They're grappling with ways to deal with the cuts, even as they fear more hotel companies may follow suit. It's not personal, though; it's strictly business.

Why News of Allegiant Air's Safety Record Didn't Surprise Airline Insiders

The information presented Sunday on 60 Minutes might be new to most travelers, but not to airline industry insiders. The question now: Is Allegiant getting better? We think the answer is yes.

TripAdvisor Attractions Unit Will Rebrand as Experiences

And the winner is ... "experiences." It's a trendy way these days to refer to what formerly were known as tours and activities or attractions. Following Airbnb and Booking.com, TripAdvisor's new business unit will be called TripAdvisor Experiences. Breathing is an experience and living is an experience. Does the name du jour really reflect tour and activities offerings?

The pictures from Southwest Flight 1380 are scary. But flying remains incredibly safe. Investigators will undoubtedly figure out what happened, and when they do, flying will be even safer.

Booking Holdings CEO on the Foolishness of a Short-Term Focus

Stocks go up and stocks go down. That's one of the perils of being a public company and exposing yourself to such pressures. Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel expresses a commitment to focus on the long term regardless of short-term complications. If Airbnb goes public, it would have to deal with a similar dynamic.

Airbnb Launching an Effort to Address Overtourism It Helped Create

The Airbnb effect has helped transform many neighborhoods around the world, and some before they were fully ready for mass tourism. The company is acknowledging that it knows it has an impact. But let's see if major cities where the real problems exist will get the same treatment as rural villages in Africa.

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