Travel Week in Review – April 19, 2024

The January flight cancellation rate for the 10 largest U.S. carriers increased for a second month in a row, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s latest Air Travel Consumer Report. Reporting carriers in January canceled 3.8 percent of scheduled domestic flights, higher than both the rate of 0.4 percent from December 2023 and the 1.9 percent rate reported for January 2023. Read More…

Globe-trotters are on the move again in a big way, boosting the rankings of a handful of international aviation hubs on the list of the world’s busiest airports. There’s no change at the top of the list. The No. 1 airport for passenger volume in 2023, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International, has held that position every year — except pandemic-walloped 2020 — for more than two decades. Read More…

Following Iran’s missile and drone attacks on Israel late Saturday night, several airlines are canceling flights to and from Tel Aviv, as well as rerouting planes scheduled to fly over the Middle East. Over the weekend, much of the airspace over and surrounding the two countries was closed, meaning passenger planes were banned from flying over many of the nations in the region. In addition to Iran and Israel, airspace over Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon was also closed on Saturday. Read More…

Marriott International plans to add by the end of 2026 “nearly 100” properties through conversions and other adaptive reuse measures—the conversion of existing non-hotel buildings into hotels—the company announced Monday. The planned additional properties would total more than 12,000 rooms, according to Marriott. The conversions and adaptive reuse projects represent “more than 40 percent” of Marriott’s European pipeline through 2026, according to the company, which said it currently has more than 800 properties in Europe totaling nearly 150,000 rooms. Read More…

IHG Hotels & Resorts has added Apple’s AirPlay streaming functionality to guest rooms in about 60 North American properties, allowing guests to stream content from iOS mobile devices to the in-room television, the company announced. The functionality is complimentary, an IHG spokesperson confirmed Guests scan a unique QR code to access the hotel’s Wi-Fi network, to ensure content streamed from that device via AirPlay appears only on the appropriate TV, according to IHG, which claimed it is the “first hospitality company to provide AirPlay functionality as part of its in-room entertainment experience.”. Read More…