Travel Week in Review – May 20th, 2022

International travel is making a major comeback more than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic and while entry restrictions continue to vary based on the destination, the vast majority of the world’s most popular places have reopened to tourists from overseas heading into summer 2022. Whether dreaming of a bucket list trip to Europe or planning a tropical getaway to the sun-kissed Caribbean travelers have options right now. Read More…

The requirement to test for Covid before flying to the United States is hated by many travelers and the U.S. travel industry. But the government shows no sign of getting rid of it.As countries, including Canada and Britain, have lifted their Covid testing requirements for vaccinated visitors in recent months, some Americans are irate that they still have to show a negative test to board a flight back to the United States. Read More…

Record-high gas prices and soaring airfare costs have overtaken pandemic-related concerns for consumers as the summer travel season approaches. According to the study, one-third of travelers said that gas prices will greatly affect their travel plans over the next six months, while one-quarter reported that the soaring price of plane tickets will impact them in a similar way. Only 19 percent of respondents said the COVID-19 pandemic now stands to greatly influence their travel decisions for the same timeframe. Read More…

Southwest Airlines plans to invest more than $2 billion on enhancing its customer experience, the carrier announced, the same day it was named as the carrier with the highest customer satisfaction score for the economy segment in the J.D. Power 2022 North America Airline Satisfaction Study. Connectivity will be a key focus for Southwest, upgrading the Wi-Fi equipment on its existing fleet with connectivity provider Anuvu’s latest-generation hardware, capable of providing a “significant improvement.” Read More…

United has received the FAA marching orders that will enable it to return its 52 Pratt & Whitney-powered Boeing 777s to service. The carrier will begin flying the first of those aircraft officially on its schedule beginning May 26, chief commercial office Andrew Nocella said at a Bank of America investors conference Tuesday. He added that United will have 30 to 35 of the planes in the sky by July. The planes have been grounded since last February, when metal fatigue on a PW 400 engine caused fan blade cracks. Read More…