Week in Review

On Tuesday, passengers aboard a Delta flight were required to evacuate the plane due to smoke filling the cabin, USA TODAY reports. According to a Delta spokeswoman, the smoke was created because hydraulic fluid dripped onto a power unit.

In response to requests from a few members of Congress, the U.S. DOT is set to audit the FAA’s investigations of Allegiant Air and American Airlines, Skift notes.

The TSA typically screens anywhere from 2.2 to 2.3 million passengers per day, but is anticipating larger crowds this summer reaching upwards of 2.7 million passengers on peak days, USA TODAY writes. In order to reduce the hand searching of bags, the agency has begun asking travelers to remove certain objects, including snacks.

According to Tnooz, Trivago acquired TripHappy to further boost the hotel search experience. The startup uses artificial intelligence to present “relevant location and neighbourhood information” while consumers are searching for hotels.

A new survey reveals fraudulent hotel bookings hit $5.2 billion in 2017, Hotelmarketing’com notes. Conducted on behalf of The American Hotel & Lodging Association, the survey also finds that nearly one-quarter of consumers report being misled by travel resellers on the phone or online.

Air France was hit by a two-day strike on Monday and Tuesday of this week, The Voyage Report writes. As a result, the airline posted a notice that more than one out of every seven planned flights (15 percent) would be cancelled.

It’s no surprise that hotel companies have a range of brands – Marriott has 30, Wyndham has 20, Hilton has 14, AccorHotels has 24. The question Skift poses this week is can hotel companies have too many brands?

What are the most impactful trends facing today’s business travel industry? This week’s The Business of Travel podcast looks at the biggest trends and features clips from the final sessions of our recent conference in Toronto. Tune in here.

According to USA TODAY, airlines had their second-most profitable year ever in 2017, raking in nearly $15.5 billion.

The airline seat of the future will clean itself! Bloomberg reports an aircraft seating company is developing a seat infused with a disinfectant that can destroy nearly ever germ on contact within seconds.

A new report suggests that NYC renters paid an extra $616 million thanks to Airbnb, Hotelmarketing’com notes.