Industry Overview
Aviation News & Intelligence
Industry-wide aviation news: regulatory changes, IATA updates, global air travel trends, and market intelligence.
These Are The Countries The US Has Banned From Buying The F-35
The US has rebuffed the requests of at least eight countries to purchase the F-35 stealth fighter.
Why Booking.com Is Betting on the AI Travelers Will Never See
The competitive variable in travel AI isn't model sophistication. It's whether customers trust the product enough to let it act on their behalf — and most companies are still investing in the wrong layer.
Is This World-Class Airline Also The World’s Worst Investor?
Singapore Airlines keeps investing in foreign airlines, but history suggests the strategy rarely works.
Left For First: Why Does The Boeing 757 Board From Mid-Cabin?
The only narrowbody that boards like a widebody, and why no aircraft replacing it can do the same thing.
Allegiant CEO Says Credit Cards Are the Airline’s Biggest Revenue Opportunity
After closing a merger with Sun Country, Allegiant CEO Greg Anderson is eyeing ways to strengthen the carrier’s credit card and loyalty programs.
The High Cost of Infinite Search: How AI Agents Break Travel Economics
Travel search was built around a useful limit: people eventually stop looking. AI agents don’t. That turns comparison shopping into a cost problem for airlines, intermediaries, metasearch, and hotels trying to keep control of demand.
Aspen Will Lose Its Airport For Over 7 Months In 2027: Here’s Why
Aspen's airport will shut down for 229 days in 2027, as crews undertake a massive runway reconstruction and airport modernization project.
Which Are The Safest Commercial Aircraft Ever?
Certain aircraft have not been in any hull loss or fatal event.
Women Travelers Are Not a Segment. Treating Them as One Is a Strategic Mistake
Treating women as a monolith isn't a diversity failure — it's a revenue leak the industry keeps choosing not to fix.
Expedia Names Ex-Pinterest Exec to Lead Ads. The Pitch: Real Bookings, Not Intent.
Expedia's advertising program has one thing that Google and Meta can't offer — confirmed bookers. As such, advertisers can target travelers with set plans and try to entice them to book additional products.
EasyJet’s Latest Suitor: Can Castlelake Succeed Where Others Failed?
As consolidation reshapes European aviation, EasyJet remains one of its most prized assets – and seemingly one of its hardest deals to pull off.
The Supersonic Jet The US Government Built In Secret – Then Scrapped Before A Single Passenger Flew
Why the Boeing 2707 failed to launch.
The Real Reason New York Can't Build The Airport It Desperately Needs
Because it is not viable to build another major airport within New York, the Port Authority is spending $19 billion on infrastructure upgrades!
"Four-Letter Word": United Airlines 767 Returns To Newark After Bluetooth Name Sparks Alert
The flight crew issued repeated warnings and a one-minute ultimatum to passengers, demanding they turn off their Bluetooth devices.
5 Airlines With The World's Most Superior Business Class Dining In 2026
These are the airlines that feature award-winning restaurant-level catering on board their business class products.
How AI Became the Reason Not to Buy the World’s Largest Corporate Travel Company
With most potential buyers citing AI disruption risk and walking away, Long Lake's $6.3 billion acquisition of AmexGBT is the most contrarian bet in travel right now.
Why the Hotel Business Is Entering an Owner-First Era
The asset-light model has been good for operators and their shareholders. The pressure it creates for the owners who carry the assets is only now being openly discussed — and the operators best placed to respond are the ones who have stood on both sides of that equation.
United Airlines To Launch Direct Flights To St. Croix, Cabo & Orange County From East Coast Hubs
The announcement of United Airlines' new routes from the East Coast to St. Croix, Cabo, and Orange County expands travel options from IAD and EWR.
Travel Industry Warns Against DHS Threat to Halt Customs at ‘Sanctuary Cities’
Halting customs at Newark — one of the busiest international hubs in the U.S. — would be a logistical nightmare for airlines.
Southwest Airlines’ CEO Hints A “True First Class” Could Be Only 5 Years Away
Bob Jordan has suggested that the airline may introduce its own first-class product, along with a lounge network and long-haul international flights.
Simple Flying Podcast Episode 293: Hawaiian Airlines Flight Attendants Can't Wear Leis, American Airlines' Starlink Plans
Join Channing for the latest aviation hot topics.
Air France Charged Passenger $583 For Skipping A Flight — But His Selfies Show He Was Onboard
Air France charged a passenger $583 at Paris Charles de Gaulle because its records claimed he skipped his outbound flight — even though he says he was onboard and has selfies, the boarding pass, airport receipts, and a KLM delay email to show it. Air France and KLM keep trusting the bad record over
Luxury Retail’s Hospitality Problem Isn’t a Training Problem
Saying luxury retail should be more hospitable ignores how most of the industry works.
Jamie Dimon Says Moats in Banking Are Temporary. Sounds Like Travel.
In travel, as in banking, the moat you're defending today is probably shallower than you think. And it's likely someone is already digging around it.
What Iceland and Puerto Rico Reveal About Class Divide in Overtourism
The global travel industry's framework for managing overtourism was built for rich countries. Ten years after Skift coined the term, that may be the underbelly it has revealed.
IndiGo Will Stick to Low-Cost DNA Even as Willie Walsh Takes Over
While IndiGo Founder Rahul Bhatia said incoming CEO Willie Walsh will "run the shop in its entirety," but the strategic perimeter appears to have been drawn before Walsh has set foot in the building.
11-Hour Nonstop Flights: Air Transat Launches New Route To Europe's Busiest Airport
Canada's leisure carrier will now have two routes to Turkey. Find out more here!
The Boeing 777X Part That Snapped After A Test Flight From Hawaii
The unexpected grounding of the entire 777X test fleet in August 2024 sent shockwaves through the aviation industry, but was it beneficial for Boeing?
The SR-71 Blackbird's Secret Drone Sibling Flew 4 Missions & Failed Every One
The D-21 drone was developed to be an early spy drone carried by an SR-71-related aircraft and then B-52, but failed on every mission.
Why the Travel Industry Pays Attention to IDEA Awards Winners
Skift’s coverage informs travel audiences how to make decisions in travel through AI, news, research, brand advisory, recruiting, and more. But where does it prove who is standing out? The Skift IDEA Awards.
How An American-United Merger Would Have Shaken Up US Aviation
With American unwilling to join forces with United, the latter has ruled out future mergers.
250 Hawaiian Airlines Flight Attendants Told To Drop Leis & Aloha Shirts On New Seattle Routes
Alaska Air Group executives admitted that the move was a "difficult decision."
Giant Fireball: Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Rocket Explodes In Florida
The rocket was performing an engine test at the time of the catastrophic failure.
Hotel Refused Free Tap Water, Offered $8 Bottled Water — Italy’s Top Court Says That’s Legal [Roundup]
Italy’s top court says a five-star hotel can refuse free tap water and offer $8 bottled water instead. Also: American blocks close-in partner saver awards, Amadeus gets fined over traveler profiling, Qantas adds Philippine Airlines, and Bilt adds Mindbody fitness bookings.
‘Empty Calories’: Hyatt Tells Investors to Stop Counting Rooms
Hyatt wants investors to place more value on its premium guests. The catch: much of its growth pipeline depends on its easier-to-scale Essentials brands.
Sources: Up To 10 Young Ex-Spirit Airlines Airbus A320s Could Be Headed To Turkish Airlines
As Turkish Airlines waits for deliveries from Airbus and Boeing, it eyes Spirit Airlines' idle planes to secure immediate capacity.
18 New Transatlantic Routes In June: Where Delta, WestJet, & Air Canada Fly Now
There are some highly exciting new routes coming. Find them all here!
JetBlue Announces 1st-Ever Flights to Venezuela With New Fort Lauderdale-Caracas Route
JetBlue’s first Venezuela route deepens its fast-growing network to Latin America from Fort Lauderdale.
Spirit Airlines is auctioning off coveted New York LaGuardia flight slots
Spirit Airlines will auction its 22 slots at New York's LaGuardia Airport in July.
Southwest Moves Toward Latest Reinvention: Long-Haul International and Lounges
Southwest's CEO says the airline "doesn't have to become Delta." But these and other changes keep pushing it in that direction.
Passenger Denied Boarding After Urinating On Himself, Climbs Airport Fence — Police Bring Him $3,600
A passenger denied boarding at Manchester Airport after urinating on himself turned the refund fight into a livestreamed bridge standoff, shutting down access to Terminal 2 while demanding £2,700 back for his missed Jamaica trip. Police eventually brought cash to the scene — and then arrested him an
The AI Decisions Hotel CEOs Are Signing Right Now Will Look Like Fax Machines by 2029
Adam Harris is drawing a line between the AI that wins demos and the AI that runs a hotel at 2 a.m. without triggering a chargeback. For operators staring down agent-on-agent commerce, that distinction is the whole game — and most of what's being committed to this year is on the wrong side of i
Only 66% Full: Emirates' 10 Emptiest US Routes Revealed [Full List]
How many can you guess? Find them all out here!
Travel’s Top AI Operators
The travel industry has spent three years talking about artificial intelligence. In the summer of 2026, we’re finally building with it. In earnings calls, CEOs now field questions about model training costs and agentic infrastructure with the same fluency they once reserved for RevPAR. In hiring, ch
How Ryanair Built Europe's Most Profitable Airline By Making Flying As Uncomfortable As Possible
Ryanair doesn't see comfort or luxury as essential for being a successful airline. Instead, offering the lowest fares possible is what does the trick
The Hidden Reason Airlines Are Racing To Fit Lie-Flat Beds Into Narrowbody Jets
What if the typical widebody experience could be replicated on a narrowbody? That is what airlines are racing to achieve, for more than one reason
United Passengers Trapped On Newark Tarmac For 7.5 Hours — The Airline Offered Just $200
United passengers say they were trapped on Newark tarmacs for seven hours or more during weather delays, with one San Francisco-bound flight sitting 7.5 hours before being canceled for the night — and United offering just a $200 voucher. Federal rules generally require domestic passengers to be give
Caesars Agrees to $5.7 Billion Takeover by Tilman Fertitta
Billionaire Tilman Fertitta is buying a debt pile with a casino company attached. His firm is assuming $11.9 billion of debt from Caesars while putting up $5.7 billion to acquire it. Expect asset sales as an endgame.
US "Drawing Up Plans" To Pull Customs Officers From 10 Major Airports
Officials in the United States are formulating plans to pull Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers from several international airports located in so-called "sanctuary cities." This could see some of the country's most important airports, including New York JFK, Los Angeles and San Francisco, lose
The C‑17 Globemaster’s Unique Cabin Design That Enables Massive Airlift Capability
Discover how the C-17 Globemaster’s unique cabin design enables tanks, flying hospitals, polar missions, missile tests, and global airlift flexibility