Travel Industry Archive

I know I said I was done with the PhoCusWright posts, but I’ve got some more for the junkies who just can’t get enough. PhoCusWright has put a ton of content up on their website and on YouTube, so you can stop listening to me and start seeing it for yourselves. First up, we have all the presentations from the Travel Innovation Summit.  You’ll notice that the player they use...

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Can’t fit in one airline seat? You may get two in Canada — Canada’s Supreme Court ruled last week that obese people have a right to two seats for the price of one. The high court of the land upheld the Canadian Transportation Agency’s decision that people “functionally disabled” by being overweight deserve two seats without paying extra. The court declined...

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With this post, I’m wrapping up my coverage of PhoCusWright. It was a good week to learn about innovation, catch up with old friends, and meet new people within the industry. I’d say the common theme (besides vacation rentals and trip planning) was a heightened awareness and cautiousness about the state of the economy. Yes, airlines are seeing relief as the price of oil continues...

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Southwest trying to give up boarding gates at BWI — Southwest Airlines, which is trying to buy spots from AirTran Airways at La Guardia Airport, is also attempting to give up some of its boarding gates at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.  A spokeswoman for the company said the decision to downsize was to “optimize operations,” rather than trying...

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The votes are in, and Interactive Mobile @dvertising was voted the winner of the Travel Innovation Summit. Clearly, I was far off on this one. This is the company that has its iM@ (I’m at) application that offers destination-specific content to people on their mobile phones. I can see the potential for this to work, but I’m not yet convinced. The business model is definitely...

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Southwest pays $7.5 million for La Guardia landing slots — Southwest Airlines is willing to pay $7.5 million for bankrupt ATA Airlines’ landing slots and operating certificate at La Guardia Airport. If approved by a bankruptcy court, Southwest will buy 14 slots giving the Dallas-based airline seven daily takeoffs and landings. The closest airport Southwest now serves  is Islip...

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As mobile devices become more and more powerful, it’s easy to see why travel applications should become some of the most useful and popular mobile applications. When travelers are on the road, there’s a lot that can go wrong, and they don’t always have time to break out the laptop and figure things out. Of course, there more you can do on your mobile phone, the better, and at...

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It has been a particularly busy day here at PhoCusWright, and I’m exhausted. I thought it might be interesting if I posted a run through of my day so far. 9a - Meeting with Akamai I had always known Akamai for its caching solutions, but they’re here to show off their web accelerator product. The basic idea is that if you use their product, you will speed up response time on your...

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AirTran creates new flights for Obama inauguration – AirTran Airways announced that it’s responding to consumer demand by adding more flights between places like Atlanta and Milwaukee and the Washington, D.C. area because of President-Elect Barack Obama’s inauguration Jan. 20. New flight schedules are available on the company’s Web site and a spokesman said the carrier...

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I didn’t mention it, but as I watched all 32 presenters at the Travel Innovation Summit yesterday, I had to vote on each one. Why? Well, they decided to make a contest out of this. From the original thirty two, six were chosen to present on “Center Stage” at the actual PhoCusWright conference. One will be chosen as the “Best in Show.” Today, those six...

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