商旅纵横Business travel insights that drive better decisions.
SearchEmail briefings

All published updates

Use the filters below to find published updates by topic, region, source and time.

Clear filters

Filtered updates

25 updates.

25 updates shown

Saturday 26 September

2 updates
Air & distribution
Business Travel NewsUnited States

Delta Details Initial NDC Capabilities and Agency Enhancements

Speaking at a digital Delta Business Showcase, Delta Air Lines said its New Distribution Capability solution remains on track to launch by the end of the year, with the initial release delivering the core capabilities needed to support U.S. point-of-sale activation. At launch, agencies will be able to shop flights, access private fares, use Airlines Reporting Corp. settlement, receive order change notifications, process voluntary changes on wholly unused tickets, apply corporate priority benefits, cancel unticketed and ticketed orders, and select free seats. Delta's roadmap adds international travel documents, private-fare booking changes and UATP payments in Q1 2027; an unused-ticket solut…

Air & distribution
Skift FeedUnited States / United Kingdom

Virgin Atlantic CEO: Premium Demand 'Insatiable' as 787 Refit Cuts Economy Seats

Virgin Atlantic CEO Corneel Koster told Skift Global Forum that reconfiguring the fleet so premium seats nearly match economy is an investment, not a bet, calling premium demand 'insatiable' and saying the airline was 'underweight' in premium capacity for years. Refurbished 787 Dreamliners will cut economy from 192 to 127 seats while expanding premium. He cited UK-to-US demand up 7% year over year, corporate demand up 11% and cargo up 36%. Koster said the Delta partnership makes Virgin 'probably more Virgin than ever,' and warned that the UK sustainable aviation fuel mandate is rising while the fuel 'is just not available.'

Friday 25 September

5 updates
Air & distribution
Skift Feed全球

Travel's Agentic AI Future Faces Infrastructure and Cost Gaps

At Skift Global Forum, Steve Singh, Executive Chairman & CEO of Spotnana, and Elena Avila, EVP of Travel Distribution at Amadeus, discussed what must be in place for AI agents to work in travel. Singh said servicing accounts for 90% of the cost structure and 90% of dissatisfaction in a travel experience, and that agentic services can consistently deliver the quality of the top 5-10% of human agents. Avila said the industry needs shared standards for identity, data, and interoperability, without which agentic AI won't deliver its value. Singh estimated five to seven years to get there, noting the industry has 70 years of history working against shared standards. Avila also said compute costs…

OTA / TMC
Skift Feed全球

Airbnb CEO: Rebuilding as an AI-Native Company

At the Skift Global Forum, Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky said the company chose to rebuild around AI rather than layer it onto the existing business. He called AI an existential risk to Airbnb and also its growth engine, accelerating growth and share gains from OTAs and hotels. Airbnb shipped over 600 features this year, nearly twice last year's pace, and nearly half of customer service tickets are now handled by AI in 50 languages. Chesky also said Airbnb will launch its own agent and will eventually welcome chain hotels including Marriott and Hilton.

Data & research
Skift Feed全球 / North America

Skift-McKinsey Study: Travel Booking Journey Shifts From Linear to Orbital

Skift and McKinsey's seventh annual research collaboration, based on a study of 1,000 consumers and traveler diaries, found the booking journey has transformed from a linear path to an orbit that expands, contracts, and continues well past the transaction. McKinsey partner Constantin said touch points from intention to booking grew from roughly 45 in 2018 to an estimated 65 now. More than 50% of travelers change their minds and rebook after the initial booking, with about 40% seeking better prices and 30% driven by fear of making the wrong choice. More than 70% of travelers use AI for research and comparison, but fewer than 16% are comfortable booking through an AI tool. IHG is rolling out…

OTA / TMC
Skift FeedUnited States

Capital One Travel Positions as a Travel Platform; Over 70% of Customers Seek Live Experiences

In a Skift Global Forum decision brief, Capital One Travel SVP Sarah Moore said Capital One is positioning itself as a travel platform, not just a credit card company. She said launching Capital One Travel in 2021, later than many competitors, allowed it to study the market, understand modern travelers and build technology-first. As a bank, Capital One can use customer information and transaction data for contextual personalization. Moore said more than 70% of Capital One customers look at some kind of event or live experience when they travel, citing partnerships with MLB, touring artists and José Andrés. She also said a dedicated travel app launched in the past year has been heavily utili…

OTA / TMC
Skift Feed全球

Expedia CEO: Joining Meta's Muse, AEO Becomes Fastest-Growing Channel

Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin said at Skift Global Forum that Expedia will be on Meta's Muse AI agent, with the partnership announced the day before she spoke. She described a case-by-case, experimental approach to emerging agent platforms, with teams engaging Google, OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta. Gorin said AEO (answer engine optimization) is now Expedia's fastest-growing channel and that paid advertising in AI environments is starting to evolve. Expedia reversed course from a single end-to-end agent to modular AI agents reused across brands, while strengthening direct channels through bundling, servicing and loyalty.

Thursday 24 September

9 updates
Air & distribution
Skift FeedUnited States / United Kingdom

Virgin Atlantic CEO: Don't Make Customers Pay More for SAF Without the Environmental Benefit

Virgin Atlantic CEO Corneel Koster said at the Skift Global Forum in New York that increasing mandates on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) while supply continues to lag is not tenable for the airline industry. He noted that the U.K. SAF mandate requires the fuel to make up 2% of the country's jet fuel demand, eventually rising to 22%, but there isn't enough SAF available.

Data & research
Skift FeedMiddle East / Qatar

Qatar Airways CEO on Integrated Systems and Disruption Resilience

Qatar Airways Group CEO Hamad Al-Khater, speaking at Skift Global Forum, recounted how Middle East conflict forced the airline to ground its entire fleet for six days. He said the integrated group model — airline, airport, ground handling, catering and cargo — enabled a faster recovery, with all 6,993 stranded passengers protected and sent home, on-time performance recovering to 86–87% versus peers at 70–75%, and July and August revenues level with the prior year. He also said the airline absorbed a 90% jet fuel cost increase rather than pass it on, and noted 75% of passengers now book within 60 days.

Air & distribution
Skift FeedCanada / Calgary / Gulf / Alberta / Abu Dhabi

Alberta Courts Gulf Investment and Tourists as Etihad Launches Calgary Route

Travel Alberta is pursuing two things from the Gulf at once: high-spending leisure travelers and the capital and expertise to build niche resorts and attractions it currently lacks. Etihad will launch a direct Abu Dhabi-Calgary service next month, operating four times weekly. Jon Mamela, chief commercial officer of Travel Alberta, said the airline is "placing a significant bet on Alberta," indicating inherent interest and demand already exist in the market. Because the flight from Abu Dhabi is roughly 13 hours, Mamela suggests a minimum stay of seven days — ideally 10 to 14 — which is expected to push spend well above average. Top source-market spend is about C$1,100 to C$2,200 ($785 to $1,…

Air & distribution
Skift FeedTurkey

Turkish Airlines Orders Up to 150 Boeing 737 MAX Aircraft

Turkish Airlines has finalized a deal with Boeing for up to 150 737 MAX aircraft, comprising 100 firm 737-8s and options for 50 more, with substitution rights for the larger 737-10. It is the flag carrier's largest-ever Boeing narrowbody order and the first major fleet decision under new Chairman Murat Seker and CEO Ahmet Olmustur. No delivery timeline was disclosed.

Air & distribution
Business Travel NewsPhoenix / Taipei / Taiwan / San Francisco / Los Angeles / United States / Seattle

American Airlines and Starlux Launch Codeshare Partnership

American Airlines and Starlux Airlines announced a codeshare partnership. American will place its code on Starlux-operated flights to Taipei Taoyuan International Airport from Los Angeles, Ontario (Calif.), San Francisco and Seattle-Tacoma, and plans to place its code on Starlux-operated Phoenix-Taipei flights pending regulatory approval. AAdvantage members can earn miles and points when booking an American codeshare operated by Starlux. Starlux passengers from Taipei can connect to 20 North American cities on American-operated flights on a single ticket with baggage checked through to final destinations. Flights are now available for booking for travel beginning Sept. 30.

Air & distribution
China Tourism NewsBeijing / Daxing / Hainan / Moscow

Daxing Airport Hosts 925 Aviation Carnival and Launches Seven New Service Measures

On September 24, 2026, Beijing Daxing Airport hosted the '925 Aviation Carnival' and launched seven new service measures, including early check-in for international flights, one-day advance check-in for domestic flights, paperless boarding with ID, and easy security channels. During the event, Daxing Airport signed a memorandum of cooperation with Hainan's tourism department and launched a China-Russia aviation product. For the Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays, Daxing Airport expects over 11,000 flights and 1.79 million passengers, with daily averages up about 11% and 10% year-on-year.

Air & distribution
China Tourism NewsSanya / Beihai / Nanchang / Hohhot / Jiangxi / Haikou / Zhengzhou / Qingdao

Jiangxi Airlines Adds and Increases Flights for Mid-Autumn and National Day Holidays

During the 2026 Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays, Jiangxi Airlines added and increased multiple routes, with an average of 86 daily flights, up 7.5% year-on-year. Domestically, it added or increased routes from Nanchang to Hohhot, Beihai, Zhengzhou, Sanya, Qingdao, and Haikou. Internationally, the Nanchang-Kuala Lumpur route maintains four weekly flights since September. During the holidays, ticket bookings for domestic routes over 2,000 km increased 14% year-on-year, and the Nanchang-Kuala Lumpur route had a load factor above 90%.

Air & distribution
China Tourism NewsShanghai / China / Beijing / Guangzhou

CATA Aviation Conference Focuses on AI in Airline Service

The 4th China Air Transport Association (CATA) Aviation Conference, themed 'AI and Civil Aviation Integrated Development,' featured nearly 200 exhibitors. Airlines shared AI progress: China Eastern partnered with Qwen to enable one-sentence booking, seat selection and changes, and its transfer decision system cut batch rebooking time from 30 minutes to 5 minutes with an over-97% tight-transfer success rate; China Southern piloted AI check-in on international routes, cutting average check-in time per passenger from 3 minutes to under 1 minute, serving over 15,000 passengers, while its smart customer service handled 170,000 complaint cases, reducing average handling time from 3 days to 1.5 da…

OTA / TMC
Skift Feed全球

Sierra and OpenAI's Taylor on AI's Broad Impact on Travel

Bret Taylor, founder of Sierra and chairman of OpenAI's board, said at Skift Global Forum that AI agents can already handle the entire journey — booking, pre-arrival, in-stay and post-stay — as one continuous conversation. He criticized companies that route customers between departments, saying shipping your org chart should never happen in the world of AI. Taylor said the difference between marketing and service is just who initiates the conversation, and that every company's agent will eventually handle booking, onboarding, cross-sell and service as a single interface. He also said over-constraining AI produces worse results, and companies should set goals and guardrails instead of script…

Wednesday 23 September

8 updates

Tuesday 22 September

1 updates