Travel Week in Review – April 5, 2024

Executive Travel is adding a fare assurance service to ensure clients are not missing out on lower-priced New Distribution Capability fares when booking air travel, the travel management company announced. With its NDC Low Price Guarantee, Executive Travel’s staff will review all online and in-person air bookings with NDC fares and automatically rebook them when lower fares are available, according to the TMC. Read More…

Southwest Airlines has acquired SAFFire Renewables, a company formed as part of a U.S. Department of Energy-backed project to develop and produce scalable sustainable aviation fuel, the carrier announced Thursday. Southwest will fold SAFFire into Southwest Airlines Renewable Ventures, a venture capital subsidiary dedicated to creating more opportunities for the carrier to obtain scalable SAF, which the airline formed earlier this year. Read More…

Travel buyers gave car rental companies mixed results in BTN’s 2024 Car Rental Survey, with three of the five rated brands garnering higher scores compared with 2023, but two declining. National Car Rental secured another win, its ninth in a row, making it undefeated for as long as BTN has been conducting the survey. Meanwhile, chauffeured ground transportation suppliers held steady with buyers this year, with an average 3.83 rating on an ascending ratings scale of one to five, with six of the 10 categories surveyed showing year-over-year improvement. Read More…

The federal government will raise the cost of the popular Global Entry program this fall for the first time in more than 15 years. Starting Oct. 1, the application fee for Global Entry will increase to $120, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Currently, the cost is $100. “As these programs have matured and expanded, updating the fee structures is critical to the continuation and management of the programs,” CBP wrote in a statement. Read More…

Leading up to April 8, cities in the eclipse’s path of totality prepare for an influx of tourists. But, even with some extra traffic for airports and airlines, operations likely won’t look too different. Skift named April’s eclipse “this year’s top travel phenomenon,” with cities such as Buffalo, Indianapolis, and Dallas gearing up for the big day. Some airlines offered specialized experiences for eclipse travel, and tourism bureaus coordinated events to celebrate the evening.  Read More…