United Airlines CEO Doesn’t Expect Travel to Fully Recover Until 2023

by Kurt Stolz

Travel is not likely to return in full to pre-pandemic levels until at least 2023, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in an interview on Sunday.
Speaking on the CBS news program “Face the Nation,” Kirby said that, given the pent-up demand for people to “connect with the world,” leisure travel has exceeded 100% of pre-pandemic levels, but the demand on the business side is still down by 60% as many …

Thomas Plaskett, Founder of American Airlines’ Frequent-Flyer Program and Former Pan Am CEO, Dies at 77

by Anna Breuer

Thomas Plaskett, an airline industry visionary who led both Pan American World Airways and Continental Airlines and created the American Airlines AAdvantage frequent-flyer program, died on June 24 at the age of 77.  He had been undergoing treatment for cancer at the time of his death.
Mr. Plaskett, a Harvard MBA, joined American Airlines four years before the deregulation of airfares changed the playing field forever. He moved up the ranks …

Using Windows? Update Your Copy Now, Says Microsoft

by Paul Riegler

If you’re using the Microsoft Windows operating system, the folks in Redmond have a message for you: Update your copy of Windows right now.
The tech company issued this warning after security researchers found a serious vulnerability in the operating system’s code.
The vulnerability impacts both Windows 10 as well as the older Windows 7, a version of the operating system that is no longer supported by Microsoft.
Microsoft nonetheless issued a patch …

How June Turned From a Month of Celebration at Southwest to a Month of Delays and Cancellations

by Paul Riegler

June was supposed to be a month of celebration for Southwest Airlines: The airline had long-planned promotions and festivities to mark the Dallas-based airline’s 50th anniversary on June 18.
The airline celebrated its 50th by giving its employees 50,000 Rapid Reward Points each as well as unveiling a special livery on one of its 737 aircraft.
“Southwest revolutionized the travel industry since our very first flight on June 18, 1971 – a …

Here’s What’s Open and What’s Closed for This Year’s 4th of July Observance

by Kurt Stolz

Today is the Third of July, not the Fourth, but because Independence Day in the United States falls on a Sunday, the holiday is being observed on a Monday in terms of what is open for business. This year, many observances of the holiday will differ from past years due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, although there will be a marked return to some degree of normalcy when compared to …

EU Rolls Out Covid-19 Vaccine Passport System

by Kurt Stolz

The European Union began to roll out the first-ever digital coronavirus passport system that allows citizens of the bloc who are fully vaccinated to travel freely within its borders without a requirement to quarantine upon arrival or produce negative Covid-19 tests at their destination.
Member states are, however, allowed to close their borders to citizens from another EU state that they consider to be higher risk.
Already, close to half of the …

Great Moments in Travel History – July 2021

by Jesse Sokolow

July is the seventh month of the calendar and was named after the Roman general Julius Caesar as it was the month of his birth.  Prior to that time it was known as Quintillis, or the fifth month of the ten-month Roman calendar.
Falling between June and August, July is typically the start of the “dog days” of summer, a period of hot, humid, and uncomfortable weather.  The ancient Romans blamed …