Latest from Skift
Skift
3 hours ago
- Business
- Skift
Boeing's Political Cash, Bhutan's Crypto Tourism and U.S. Flight Spending
For Friday's podcast we count up Boeing's lobbying dollars, look at Bhutan's crypto push, and add up flight bookings in the U.S. Skift Daily Briefing Podcast Listen to the day's top travel stories in under four minutes every weekday. Listen to the day's top travel stories in under four minutes every weekday. Skift Travel Podcasts Good morning from Skift. It's Friday, June 20. Here's what you need to know about the business of travel today. Even before last week's Air India crash brought renewed scrutiny to Boeing's safety practices, the company had been ramping up its political spending in Washington, writes Contributor Dave Levinthal. During the first five months of 2025, Boeing's federal PAC distributed nearly $1 million among almost 300 political committees. These include the campaigns of dozens of members of Congress. The company, a major federal defense contractor in addition to its status as a civil aviation behemoth, also maintains a large force of D.C. lobbyists. Since 2008, Boeing has spent at least $11.9 million annually on federal lobbying efforts. In recent years, Boeing has faced heavy criticism for its corporate safety culture, with federal lawmakers hauling top executives before their congressional committees multiple times. Listen to This Podcast Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Youtube | RSS Next, Bhutan has launched the world's first nationwide crypto-based tourism payment system, writes Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia. Partnering with crypto payment unit Binance Pay, and DK Bank, Bhutan now lets visitors pay for nearly everything in cryptocurrency — from visa fees and flights to local handicrafts and fruit at a roadside stall. This marks the first time a nation has integrated cryptocurrency payments across its entire tourism economy. The system works with Binance Pay and travelers can pay in more than 100 cryptocurrencies. DK Bank, the country's first fully digital, state-owned bank, converts payments instantly into Bhutan's local currency. For businesses, especially those in rural areas, the new system allows access to a global payment network, without the need for international banking links or expensive card terminals. Finally, U.S. flight sales through travel agencies are down overall, but online agencies have shown gains throughout the year, reports executive editor Dennis Schaal. Sales through OTAs rose 8% in May while those through traditional leisure agencies dropped 5%, and corporate travel agencies saw an 8% decline. has been expanding its flights business and now outsells Expedia, according to Skift Research.
Skift
3 hours ago
- Business
- Skift
Ixigo Lands $11 Million From Schroder Fund, Elevation Capital Trims Stake
Ixigo's focus on the next billion users in India, along with diversification and bet on profitable acquisitions has driven it to profitability in an already lucrative Indian market. Asset management company Schroder International Selection Fund has made an investment in online travel agency Ixigo. Through the block deal investment, the financial institution acquired a 1.38% stake in Ixigo, the online travel agency said in a statement. On Thursday, Ixigo shareholder Elevation capital sold 7.5 million shares in a block deal for about INR 1.35 billion ($15.7 million). Schroder acquired nearly 5.37 million shares for INR 969 million ($11.2 million). Last month, Elevation offloaded over 21.5 lakh shares for INR 382 million ($4.4 million). Even with the block deal, Elevation Capital still holds 12.08% in Ixigo. According to Ixigo, Elevation got a 2500% return on its latest partial
Skift
10 hours ago
- Business
- Skift
Air India Trims Long-Haul Services by 15%: These Routes are Affected
Air India has said it will restore the full international schedule as soon as it's safe and stable to do so. For now, it's focusing on keeping safety front and center. Skift's coverage of the Air India crash is offered free to all readers. Air India on Thursday night announced the list of international routes that it will be temporarily suspending or reducing as part of a 15% cut in its widebody operations. The changes, effective from June 21 to at least mid-July, impact long-haul flights to North America, Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia. The airline will pause some routes entirely, while others will see fewer weekly flights. Delhi–Nairobi, Amritsar–London Gatwick, Goa (Mopa)–London Gatwick are the three routes that the airline has paused until at least July 15. A long list of long-haul routes will operate at reduced frequency. These include: Delhi–Toronto is down from 13 to 7 flights a week. Delhi–Chicago will now run only 3 times weekly instead of 7. Delhi–Melbourne and Delhi–Sydney will now operate 5 flights a week. Delhi-Vancouver is down from 7 flights a week to 5. Delhi-San Francisco will now run only 7 times a week instead of 10. Other affected routes include Bengaluru-London (Heathrow) and Amritsar-Birmingham. From Delhi the routes to Washington (Dulles), London (Heathrow), Birmingham, Paris, Milan, Copenhagen, Vienna, Amsterdam, Tokyo (Haneda) and Seoul (Incheon) will also see changes. Why This Is Happening Announcing the temporary route curtailment on Wednesday, the airline said the move was necessary after a series of disruptions following the June 12 crash and mounting challenges in global airspace. These include safety checks on its fleet, night-time flying restrictions in parts of Europe and East Asia, and detours due to the Middle East conflict. There have been 83 flight cancellations in the past six days. The airline said the temporary cuts would help ensure it has enough aircraft on standby for emergencies or schedule changes. On June 12, Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick, went down shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad. Out of 242 passengers, only one survived. It was the first fatal crash involving a 787, an aircraft with an otherwise strong safety record. In the aftermath, Indian civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered enhanced safety inspections across Air India's 787 fleet. As of June 19, 26 of the 33 planes had been cleared. Checks on the rest are ongoing. On Tuesday night, DGCA said the surveillance of Air India's Boeing 787 fleet has not revealed "any major safety concerns" so far. The airline is also beginning extra safety checks on its Boeing 777 aircraft — another widebody model used on international routes. Middle East Airspace Closure Alongside safety checks, Air India is dealing with restricted airspace in parts of Europe and Asia. Tensions in the Middle East, especially the Israel-Iran conflict, have led to widespread rerouting. Pakistani airspace closure amid continuing diplomatic tensions between India and its neighbor has further complicated things. These disruptions are forcing longer flight paths. The airline also cited night curfew in the airspaces of many countries in Europe and East Asia, adding to the strain. Other carriers, including IndiGo, have warned of delays and potential cancellations. What Passengers Should Know Following the temporary route curtailment, Air India said it will notify impacted passengers and give them options to reschedule without paying extra. Passengers will also be able to cancel and receive a full refund Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson, in a message to frequent flyers on Thursday acknowledged the disruptions. In the letter to members of its loyalty program Maharaja Club Wilson also shared details about the crash and why the airline is making these changes. He confirmed that the aircraft involved in the crash was well maintained and the last major check was completed in June 2023 with the next check scheduled for December 2025. 'Its right engine was overhauled in March 2025, and the left engine was inspected in April 2025. Both the aircraft and engines were regularly monitored, showing no issues before the flight,' Campbell said in the letter. He also reassured customers that the airline is conducting safety inspections on all similar planes. And more broadly, he addressed why the airline is scaling back, 'As a confidence-building measure, we have elected to continue enhanced pre-flight safety checks… This will also allow us to have more backup aircraft ready to handle any unexpected issues.'
Skift
10 hours ago
- Business
- Skift
Record 72 Million Americans Set to Travel for Fourth of July
The prediction feels somewhat optimistic given recent trends. But travelers continue to benefit from lower gas prices and have mostly continued to spend despite economic uncertainty. Americans are shrugging off economic jitters for the Fourth of July holiday: AAA projects that 72.2 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home between June 28 and July 6. If the forecast is correct, travel for the holiday would eclipse previous records set in 2019, before the pandemic, and 2023, during the post-Covid travel surge. But the rosy prediction hinges on gas prices staying near four-year lows and Middle East tensions not spiraling into broader conflict. Drivers are currently paying about 40 cents less per gallon than last summer, AAA said, with gas prices at their lowest since 2021. That's providing crucial relief for the 61.6 million Americans expected to ddrive, representing 85% of all holiday travelers. Uncertainties Ahead The prediction feels somewhat optimistic given recent trends. One wild card is the Israel-Iran war, which risks increasing oil prices and is causing gasoline prices to spike. Recent hotel performance trends also suggest weakness. Overall, U.S. revenue per available room was down 1.8% for the week ending June 14, according to CoStar's STR. "The weekend results were not 'soft' to us but instead 'bad,' especially for limited-service chain scales, which averaged -3.3% year-over-year revenue per available room," said Truist analysts Patrick Scholes and Gregory Miller. Truist said the results reflected "the combination of volatility in consumer and business confidence, government segment cutbacks, and diminished inbound international travel. And to these headwinds, we now add student loan debt repayments—likely impacting limited-service hotels." Otherwise, a favorable calendar date might enable this year's holiday to break travel records. Because it falls on a Friday, more travelers may take the entire week off. AAA's Independence Day forecast includes two weekends instead of one to 'better reflect the flow of holiday travelers." Top Independence Day Destinations Here are the top five U.S. destinations for the Independence Day holiday period based on travel bookings made through AAA: Orlando, FL Seattle, WA New York, NY Anchorage, AK Fort Lauderdale, FL
Skift
20 hours ago
- Business
- Skift
Premier Inn Turns to High-Margin Rooms to Offset UK Hotel Weakness
Premier Inn says it's outperforming rivals in a soft UK market, but it's doing so by squeezing more value from fewer guests, not a rebound in demand. Premier Inn-owner Whitbread reported a drop in UK accommodation sales in its fiscal first quarter and is trying to offset weaker demand by charging guests for room upgrades and add-ons. UK accommodation revenue declined 2% for the period that ended May 29. RevPAR also fell 2%, while occupancy dropped to 78.6%, down more than 3 points from last year. Trading "was against a softer demand backdrop," Whitbread CEO Dominic Paul said on the company's earnings call Thursday. 1. Upselling to lift spend per guest: With fewer bookings, Premier Inn is tryi
