The Best Luxury Experiences for Summer Travel


Skift Take

There are a lot of discerning experiences vying for a customer's money. Here are some worth your time as you set out on the road this summer.

Series: On Experience

On Experience

Colin Nagy is a marketing strategist and writes on customer-centric experiences and innovation across the luxury sector, hotels, aviation, and beyond. You can read all of his writing here.
It’s the summer travel season again, and as this column has long implored, it is best to reward the best, most innovative brands with your money and leave the charlatans in the dust. In this roundup from the past six months of travel, I’ve deliberately avoided the new, flashy and unproven in favor of the stuff that works well. There's a slew of airline products to try, as well as observations on hotels, how luxury is evolving and some (semi) dignified American rail travel. Best International First Class While the front of the plane is often the source of an industry arms race, there’s something to be said for consistent execution. Japan Air Lines long-haul first on the 777 is a blend of incredibly comfortable bed, super polished Japanese service, well thought out food and beverage options including a multi-course Kaiseki meal. Best of all the cabin seems small Best Transcon First American’s Flagship Service is the best way to get from Kennedy to SFO or LAX. They’ve recent