good morning. It’s Tuesday, March 4th. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today:
Skift Research’s latest Deep Dive report examines the growing influence of banks and credit card companies while they travel. Senior Research Analyst Pranavi Agarwal offers three key points from his report:
Agarwal is moving from promoting loyalty programs for other brands to launching its own dedicated travel booking platform through co-branded credit cards. Additionally, credit card companies are rapidly gaining market share in the travel industry, with Chaystravel expecting a total booking of around $15 billion this year.
Agarwal adds that online travel agents are increasingly partnering with banks looking to launch their own travel booking platform, creating a business-to-business model that allows OTAS to access a huge pool of potential new customers.
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Second, IAG, the parent company of British Airlines and Iberia, recently said it used 16% of the world’s sustainable aviation fuel last year.
IAG said that despite not being among the world’s top 10 airlines in terms of fleet size, passenger count and distance, they are disproportionately affected by their missions over green fuel. Both the UK government and the European Union have enacted sustainable aviation fuel orders, starting at 2% and increasing over time.
Finally, skiing in the US has become obscenely expensive. However, columnist Colin Nagy offers an experience that justifies a $329 lift ticket, with one resort, particularly one (Deer Valley, Utah).
Nagy praises the resort’s staff for consistently conveying luxury, detail and warmth. He added that Deer Valley is almost nothing more than a masterclass due to its price range, allowing guests to truly understand why it’s worth paying its high price.
Deer Valley caps the number of skiers each day to keep the slopes busy. This saves the premium experience, although the resort may have potential revenue costs during peak periods.
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