Sean O'Neill

A British Airways hiccup earlier this month was merely the latest tech outage at a number of airlines. Why does the industry suffer from so many glitches? Experts point to some deeper reasons beyond the commonly heard "old tech" explanation.

Sabre had tried the unorthodox legal tactic of pursuing its $360 million acquisition of Farelogix, an airline tech vendor, without waiting for approval from U.S. antitrust watchdogs. But it apparently didn't count on federal attorneys claiming they have text messages between Sabre executives acknowledging the anti-competitive nature of the deal.

Many grandmothers have tighter password security than tech vendor [24]7.ai allegedly did. A hacker had an easy time accessing the vendor's code, and through it, the payment card data of up to 825,000 Delta customers. No wonder the airline is suing.

The short-term goal of the deals is to win more work from hotel management companies. The long-term goal is to sell the combined portfolio. We look at the merits of Accel-KKR-owned Cendyn's acquisition of Rainmaker. We also look at potential acquisition targets.

Investors have bet on some innovative business models. AirPortr has hand-delivered about 100,000 bags from homes to airports, lifting a worry off the hands of Londoners as they pass through airport security. PaulCamper is an Airbnb for RVs. Meanwhile, SpaceBox converts spare hotel rooms into video game halls and other social zones for college students.

Spirit's decision to buy more airline technology from Sabre signals two things. Sabre has overcome a sales slump. And Spirit is investing to cope with its growth.

The travel technology giant said Wednesday it would go ahead with its planned $360 million acquisition on August 21. If the U.S. federal attorneys aren't happy about it, they can sue, Sabre said. No travel tech company has used, and threatened in public to use, its lawyers as much as Sabre in the past decade.

It's no surprise to see Skyscanner absorb the last bits of the user-generated reviews brand formerly known as Gogobot. But the price-comparison search company's bet on soliciting reviews from its own customers remains intriguing. The move highlights its ambition to become a superapp for travel.

This week travel startups announced more than $40 million in funding. Notably two of the companies, travel medical insurance seller SafetyWing and upselling tech firm HotelFlex, are graduates of the famed Y Combinator startup accelerator.

Some religions take it on faith that their messiah will come, but they stoically accept that the arrival has been delayed indefinitely. Similarly, Despegar believes that the online travel revolution will sweep Latin America, but it accepts that the glorious moment has been delayed indefinitely. Consumer financing is its secret sauce to sustain itself while it waits.