United Airlines News

Fuel efficiency is integral to the bottom line of airline operators. Skift Research found that efficiency improvements fluctuate considerably by year and between companies. Most were unable to achieve efficiency goals set by the industry.

People jokingly throw around the phrase "have vaccine, will travel" as Covid-19 inoculations roll out. But the phrase appears poised to take on some gravity with the CEO of United Airlines saying vaccines are a likely to a prerequisite as long-haul travel comes back.

Pressure is growing on airlines to reduce their carbon emissions. But how do you do that when you burn through gallons of jet fuel? Our analysis found that airlines have made good progress in becoming more fuel efficient, but have a long way to go to make significant reductions in emissions long-term.

In Skift's top travel stories this week, we covered Marriott's superapp strategy in China and Southeast Asia, Expedia's loyalty push, three timely tourism campaigns, and the United CEO's thinking about a travel recovery inflection point.

Airline executives like to talk about "inflection points," but throughout the pandemic they have seen their hopes dashed as the virus resurges. United CEO Scott Kirby is committed this time.

Following the global reckoning of a lack of diversity and inclusion, will United Airlines' push for a more inclusive cockpit be the way of the future, or will it fizzle out? As more pilots retire, the new faces will tell their own story.

Travel companies owe a lot to Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson. The acceleration of vaccine distribution jolted the U.S. travel industry out of its winter travel slump and built major strength heading into warmer months. Check out the numbers in just the last five days.