Week in Review

The Wall Street Journal’s Scott McCartney asks how the airlines should spend their windfall driven by dramatically lower oil prices and years of cost-cutting and huge consolidation. He talks with GBTA’s Mike McCormick among others to find out ways the airlines could use that money to reinvest and improve the traveler experience. The Huffington Post reports that airfares will be lower this year thanks to the falling oil prices, according to an IATA forecast. GBTA has been making a similar prediction, but believes the overall cost of airfare will continue to rise given increasing ancillary fees.

When it comes to the customer experience and flying, TSA certainly has an impact as a traveler’s first impression at an airport usually involves getting through security. Yahoo! Finance asks if TSA PreCheck is worth the money? It cites a GBTA study showing a vast majority of business travelers are highly satisfied with the hassle-free nature of the program in the case for PreCheck. WWLP News went straight to a TSA staffer to get tips for a smooth screening experience at the airport.

Travel buyers have been closely following the GDS surcharge implemented by Lufthansa in late 2015. The Lufthansa CEO is now telling Tnooz the revenue impact has been neutral and they expect other airlines to follow suit.

Millennials are a mystery to many, but Travel Daily News reports on a PwC consumer survey showing Millennial travelers may not be as different as you think when it comes to loyalty and hotel brands. Tnooz writes about another tipping point with Millennials saying a Sabre report shows they may become the largest hotel spenders as soon as 2017.

In other hotel news, Tnooz reports on the rising importance hotels are placing on satisfying their customer’s Wi-Fi needs.

Earlier this week, USA Today ran a special “transportation face-off.” They compared the costs for travelers when it comes to Uber, taxis, rental cars or public transit saying travelers who fail to scout this out could be making a costly mistake. In other money-saving tactics, Travel Pulse writes about how to save money on last-minute business travel.

Finally, your list for this week comes from Luxury Travel Magazine, which gives you the five top places to mix business travel with leisure.