Week in Review

The United States is getting ready for its long holiday weekend to celebrate its independence from British rule 240 years ago. The United Kingdom’s decision to declare its independence from the European Union last week is still rippling through the global economy generally and business travel specifically with The Telegraph reporting on the uncertainty Brexit is having on business travel.

Travel Daily News has also compiled a useful summary of travel industry reactions to Brexit. The same outlet is also reporting that nearly 40 percent of airlines don’t have an effective cash-flow forecasting solution in place to respond properly to the turmoil posed by Brexit. The Brexit vote is also adding uncertainty to the proposed expansion of London’s Heathrow Airport – one of the busiest hubs in the world, per Buying Business Travel. Ryanair is following suit, and shifting its focus on EU growth after the Brexit vote, per Buying Business Travel.

Brexit could, at least, lead to travel bargains for travelers from the United States to both the United Kingdom and Continental Europe, according to USA Today. Despite short-term benefits for American travelers to the U.K., The Economist reports that airlines and travelers could be among the biggest losers from Brexit.

According to Skift, Brand USA’s goal of bringing 100 million inbound travelers to the United States by 2021 is falling short. Brand USA is citing the 10 percent decrease in Canadian travel due to the strong dollar as one of the key culprits.

With the United States getting ready for its long Independence Day holiday weekend, USA Today examines how airports and the TSA are preparing for the year’s busy travel season. Key travel tip from the article: avoid airports on Fridays. It is the busiest travel day of the week.

American Airlines is making some changes to its shuttle service, according to Frequent Business Traveler. The shuttle services will drop one round-trip flight in the evening reducing the number of round trips between Boston and New York to 15, while the New York-Washington, D.C., route will cut back to 13 round trips eliminating two mid-day round-trip flights and one evening round-trip flight.

On the carrier side of things, Bloomberg reports that one of the airline’s with the lowest levels of customer satisfaction and on-time service – Spirit Airlines – is working to improve its status.

As far as the Big Three U.S.-based carriers are concerned, the U.S. State Department is not expected to seek official consultations with the governments of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to discuss whether Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Qatar Airways have unfair competitive advantages over their U.S. counterparts, according to Skift. The Big Three were claiming that their Gulf counterparts were violating Open Skies initiatives.

What are the best mid-scale hotels for travelers? USA Today conducted a survey of its Road Warriors business traveler panel and Hilton Garden Inn came out on top with many citing the size and comfort of its rooms as well as its additional amenities.

London hotel group GLH Hotels has launched a tool that allows guests to choose the exact room the want to stay in before making the reservation, per Buying Business Travel. The Choose Your Own Room feature allows travelers to view, compare and book the specific room that they want. The New York Times is reporting that many hotel spas are now offering services designed specifically to combat jet lag.

BWDisrupt cites GBTA data showing that India has been witnessing the most escalated growth rate in corporate travel in the entire world, and reports on how that growth is changing business travel throughout India.

Your list for this week comes from USA Today:

Seven Things You Need to Do if the Airline Loses Your Luggage