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1. Airlines Ponder Safety Risks in Israel
Norwegian Air and Dutch KLM canceled flights out of Tel Aviv due to a lack of insurance coverage and safety concerns, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, Air France continues to fly into Israel, and the U.K. government has stated it will facilitate flights for its citizens out of the country.
"Vulnerable British nationals will be prioritized for these flights. At this stage we will contact those who are eligible for the flights directly and British nationals should not make their way to the airport unless they are called," the U.K.’s foreign office statement said.
Dutch KLM said that it’s “not sufficiently possible for a civilian airline to conduct a flight that’s safe for crew and passengers.”
Norwegian Air said the insurance company it uses won’t cover flights to Tel Aviv.
2. Inflation Cools in September
Prices in the U.S. increased 0.4% from August to September, and the annual consumer inflation rate in September was 3.7%, matching last month’s total, the Associated Press reports. Core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs, were up 4.1% year over year in September, down from 4.3% in August.
The continued cooling of price increases could present an opportunity for the Federal Reserve to pause interest rate hikes, said Christopher Waller, a member of the Federal Reserve’s governing board.
“We’re in this position where we can kind of watch and see what happens,” Waller said. If core inflation stays as low as it has in recent months, “we’re pretty much back to our target.”
3. Remington Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month
Remington Hospitality hotels are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, by highlighting specific global regions and hosting luncheons with cuisine, beverages, music and activities from those regions, HNN’s Dana Miller reports.
"Over the past several weeks, we have noticed that the vast majority of our associates are enjoying learning more about each Latin American country through our regional fact sheets that highlight [Latin American] countries," Johnny Morales, senior vice president of human resources at Remington, said. "The response has been overwhelming.”
4. Budget Airlines See Demand Fall
Despite a rise in “revenge travel” coming out of the pandemic, budget airlines are struggling and have been forced to reduce fares, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“You’ve got fuel, capacity and demand all headed in the wrong direction,” Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle said during an industry conference last month. “We’re kind of the canary in the coal mine.”
Consumers are still generally spending, but the influx of international travel this summer “caught some domestic-focused budget airlines off guard,” the news outlet reports. High inflation has also affected the pockets of budget travelers more than other classes.
5. Delta Profits Soar in Third Quarter
Delta Air Lines posted a 59% increase in profits year over year in the third quarter of 2023 thanks to a surge in international travel and an increase in passenger-carrying capacity, the Associated Press reports. An average Delta flight was filled to 88% capacity in the quarter, up a point from last summer.
“We’re closing the year strong, and the holiday bookings that we see right now are pretty good,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said. “Domestic [travel] is solid, and international is really strong.”