EasyJet Chief Executive Johan Lundgren is stepping down. The company confirmed the move as it published its latest earnings on Thursday. Lundgren has been in post for seven years and is widely regarded as a safe pair of hands. He successfully navigated the European low-cost carrier through the COVID-19 crisis and developed its increasingly lucrative easyJet Holidays division. The company says...
Selina, a hotel and experiences brand focused on youth travelers, has to give investors a haircut to receive a capital injection of up to $50 million from Global University Systems (G.U.S). Here are key points in its financial restructuring, which it hopes to finalize within a week or two. Selina has faced a cash crunch. Selina went public in a SPAC deal in October 2022. The deal failed to...
The Indian government is offering visa-fee waivers for the first 100,000 tourists entering the country under the “Chalo India” program. The operational guidelines will be finalized soon, after which the scheme will officially launch, the ministry has said. The Indian government had waived visa fees for 500,000 tourists between 2022 and 2023 to support tourism after Covid. Despite a 44% surge in...
Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, January 11. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today. Listen Now Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Overcast | Google Podcasts | Amazon Podcasts Episode Notes The recent blowout aboard an Alaska Airlines flight is far the only problem that Boeing has experienced with its 737 Max aircraft. Associate Editor Rashaad Jorden takes a look...
Online travel agency Cleartrip has announced that its travel agent partners increased by 40% in 2023 as compared to 2022. The company’s business-to-business platform Agentbox 2.0 recorded four times higher volume of business in 2023 than the previous year, it added. Agentbox 2.0: Cleartrip’s agency business is a platform that aims to provide travel agents with a one-stop solution for...
Change is in the air at Finnair. The Helsinki-based flag carrier has confirmed that Turkka Kuusisto will be the airline’s new chief executive. The appointment follows the resignation of incumbent Topi Manner in August last year. Kuusisto joins the company from Posti Group Corporation, the Finnish mail and delivery business, where he has been CEO since 2020. Earlier in his career, he held senior...
Four travel tech startups announced fundraises over the past two weeks totaling more than $15 million. Steller, an AI-powered trip planner and social media app, has raised $5 million from Pioneer Venture Partners and other investors. It is part of a series B funding round of $22 million that has been raised over the past couple of years. Washington-based Steller has raised $42 million to date...
Africa’s long-term travel prospects hinge on its domestic demand, a trend accelerated by the pandemic and an opportunity for the continent’s tourism-rich countries. “Africa for Africa is vital,” said Anita Mendiratta, special advisor to the UNWTO Secretary General, who spoke to Skift at the Airbnb Africa Summit in Johannesburg. “Domestic tourism was always the poor...
The Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that it would fine American Airlines $50 million for “numerous serious violations of the laws” that protect passengers with disabilities. The fine is one of the largest an airline has received for such violations. “Today’s penalty, which is 25 times larger than any previous U.S. DOT penalty for disability-related violations, is intended...
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