Travel

Klook has withdrawn its planned U.S. initial public offering, opting to wait for more favorable market conditions as the travel experiences platform continues to expand globally and push toward profitability. “Given current market conditions, Klook has decided this is not the right time to proceed with an IPO,” a company spokesperson said. “We will continue

Key Points Southwest replaces A-List and A-List Preferred with silver, gold, and platinum tiers on January 1, 2027, with thresholds of 35,000, 65,000, and 140,000 tier qualifying points, or 25, 50, and 100 qualifying flights. Companion passes become a status currency: up to three for members between gold and platinum, unlimited at platinum. Cardholders earn

Thailand’s Centara Hotels & Resorts plans to accelerate international expansion through partnerships with large property investors rather than individual hotel deals. Chief Operating Officer Michael Henssler told Skift that Centara is “going more into [an] asset-light” strategy, managing hotels owned by outside investors rather than financing properties itself.  Centara is part of Thailand’s Central Group,

Airlines are turning to celebrity chefs to give their premium cabins a makeover without having to replace a single seat. While new business and first class products can take years to develop, certify and install, menus can be refreshed in months. That makes inflight dining one of the more flexible ways for airlines to differentiate

Key Points Overseas arrivals fell 4.3% in September to 2.7 million, with 13 of the top 20 markets down and year-to-date arrivals off 5.7%. Western Europe drove the decline: nearly 89,000 fewer visitors, almost three quarters of the month’s total drop, led by France at -15% and the Netherlands at -13%. Canada is recovering slowly

Artificial intelligence is getting better at sounding like it knows the traveler. But while it tailors the way it describes destinations to each person, the destinations it recommends change much less. In a new report, The Mystery of the Disappearing Destination: How AI Is Transforming Travel Discovery, Skift Research tested three large language models (ChatGPT,

Greg O’Hara, founder and senior managing director of private equity firm Certares, expects more European governments to push travelers off short-haul flights and onto trains, and he said his company has invested about $2.3 billion in European and UK rail. A French law already bars domestic flights if a direct train trip would take less

American Airlines is making even more changes to its leadership ranks. Brian Znotins, American’s top network planner, will retire, according to an internal memo from Nat Pieper, the carrier’s chief commercial officer. Nick Andersen will become senior vice president of network planning, Pieper said in the memo, which was seen by Skift.  Andersen has spent

Delta Air Lines wants business travelers signing up for SkyMiles while they book, not after. Delta and American Express Global Business Travel said Wednesday they are piloting one-click enrollment in SkyMiles and in Delta’s Fast Track to Medallion Status offer directly inside Amex GBT’s booking tools for travelers at participating corporate customers. Under the partnership,

Opening Talks + Reception: Apella by Alexandria, New York City, November 11, 2026 Main Event: TWA Hotel, JFK, New York City, November 12, 2026  Jet fuel prices were up 102% year over year in mid-September, and record revenues have failed to fully cover the increase. The damage has been uneven. Spirit Airlines shut down in

Everyone in travel is talking about the shift to agentic booking. With Instinct, Muse, and others hitting the market and consumer adoption accelerating quickly, it’s understandable. Despite all the talk — and real action — there’s still a lot to sort out. “The agents are here,” said Seth Borko, Skift’s Head of Research. “Almost no

Canadian travelers are gradually returning to the U.S. — but the road back to 2024 levels remains a long one. Canadian-resident return trips from the U.S. rose 6.8% in September, marking the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year growth, according to figures released Tuesday by Statistics Canada. Return trips by car and by air both increased,

Postcard Hotel locations have so far been in remote, leisure-led retreats far from South Asia’s business districts. But now founder and CEO Kapil Chopra wants to take the brand into the cities. In an exclusive interview with Skift, Chopra said Postcard is preparing an urban format built around nearly-all-suite hotels, and each with a private

Global travel performance remained unchanged in August 2026 compared to a year earlier, according to the latest Skift Travel Health Index report. However, despite the flat score (100), there is significant movement across the industry, with airfares and hotel rates rising in several markets and travelers becoming increasingly selective about when and where they spend.

India has become Skyscanner’s largest market by users, with searches from the country rising 22% year over year, outpacing the global growth rate of 17%, Neel Ghose, travel trends and destinations expert at Skyscanner India, told Skift. Ghose said the bigger change is in what Indian travelers are searching for. Three years ago, roughly 80%

Europe’s independent hotels face a new AI visibility problem: travelers are using AI to plan but few are booking through it, and the clearest measurable returns are showing up in operational uses rather than autonomous trip planning. Those pressures are particularly visible in Europe. The region has a hotel market dominated by independents, while the

Delta Air Lines is scheduled to begin nonstop flights from Atlanta to Riyadh on October 23, the first such service by a U.S. airline. The launch now comes after a week of deadly attacks on King Khalid International Airport. An October 10 strike killed at least 12 people and injured more than 300, according to

Hundreds of union workers walked out of six downtown Chicago hotels Friday, two days before the Chicago Marathon, and their union warned that 40 more hotels could follow. The strike, called by Unite Here Local 1, is far narrower than the one members authorized. More than 7,000 workers at 46 hotels voted last month to