Travel Industry CEO Interviews

When others said low-cost, long-haul air travel might not work, Norwegian Air CEO Bjørn Kjos thought differently. So far he has been right — Norwegian's long-haul flights are popular with passengers — but legacy carriers are starting to fight back. It'll be interesting to watch Norwegian battle with them over the coming years.

While many African carriers are struggling to stay afloat, let alone turn a profit, Ethiopian Airlines is firmly in the black and planning aggressive expansion. The magic formula? The right aircraft and routes, and a government that lets the experts get on with it.

With its Expedia DNA, Egencia is well-positioned to help bring consumer innovations into the corporate travel mainstream.

To a great extent, Ctrip is going to be preoccupied for years chasing Chinese travelers and servicing their every travel need, around the globe. Barring further consolidation, Ctrip isn't much of a threat to its partner, the Priceline Group, which is years ahead in its own hotel business and is executing superbly.

How do you stay efficient and maintain core values when your company scales from 700 to 1,100 employees within a year? You get rid of most job titles and fly everyone to Ibiza for the weekend, says Trivago's managing director Johannes Thomas.

Being a perfectionist isn't always a bad thing, especially if Sternlicht's hotel history is any proof of that.

Just as Norwegian Air has on trans-Atlantic routes, Air Asia X might disrupt established trans-Pacific players and push down fares. But making money on long-haul flights is tricky, and Air Asia X might decide it has better options closer to home.

The hotel business will always be a challenging one, regardless of whether your founder happens to be the 45th President of the United States or not. Whether the Trump Hotels company can continue its focus on domestic growth, while avoiding the many conflicts of interest and challenges that arise in this unprecedented situation, we'll have to wait and see.

As technology continues to evolve, hotels need to find more creative and effective ways to use it to improve the guest experience, without sacrificing the humanity of genuine hospitality.

Skyscanner CEO Gareth Williams is the rare Western executive to have played his cards right in China, in light of the successful recent sale to Chinese giant Ctrip of the price-comparison company he co-founded. Williams' next bets for growth are on voice-activated Internet search, instant booking for airlines, and mobile-first transactions in Asia.