Travel News Briefing

Airlineslimerickleader.ie5 Nov

Aer Lingus flight targeted with bomb threat as Dublin plane diverted to military airbase

Multiple flights were diverted across Europe on Thursday morning after a further series of bomb threats.

The incidents come after several planes, including some departing from the UK and Ireland, were subject to hoax security alerts on Tuesday.

At least eight flights were confirmed to have been targeted with bomb threats on Thursday, including services from Copenhagen, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan and Warsaw.

Among them was a Ryanair flight from London Stansted Airport heading for Bulgarian capital Sofia, which was diverted and landed safely in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, according to AP.

Most diverted to other airports for emergency landings while others landed safely at their destinations.

One flight from Dublin to Rome was diverted to an airfield in northern France amid a bomb alert on Thursday.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told reporters she was aware that a “small number of flights” had been disrupted on Thursday.

She added: “We do have some of the most robust aviation security systems anywhere in the world and we have established processes for dealing with hoax and malicious threats, and that’s what these threats have been.”

Ms Alexander said the UK took these threats “seriously”, adding: “But we understand that these have been malicious hoax threats.”

A UK Government spokesperson said: “Threats reported in the early hours of this morning have been resolved.

“It’s right that authorities treat any potential threats seriously – the UK has one of the most robust aviation security systems in the world, with well-tested processes for dealing with any threats, as well as malicious hoaxes, like those we’ve seen this week.

“The Met’s Aviation Policing Command continues to monitor the situation and liaise with the relevant authorities.”

A statement from the French prime minister’s office said the A320 aircraft was diverted to the Evreux air base and landed safely.

“The 151 passengers and six crew members were brought to safety and the bomb disposal teams intervened,” the statement added.

Aer Lingus said: “Aer Lingus flight EI402 from Dublin to Rome diverted to Normandy this morning as a security precaution.

“The flight landed safely and Aer Lingus will work to reaccommodate customers to their final destination as soon as possible.”

Finnish airline Finnair confirmed two of its flights, one from Helsinki to Rome and another from Helsinki to Vienna, had also faced “unfounded or hoax” bomb threats on Thursday.

Both aircrafts landed at their destinations and passengers disembarked safely, the company said.

In Rome, the Finnair plane was inspected and nothing out of the ordinary was found, while checks on the aircraft in Vienna are continuing.

There were 144 passengers and seven crew members aboard the flight to Rome and 177 passengers and six crew on the Vienna flight, the airline said.

WizzAir said two of its flights had been the subject of bomb threats on Thursday – one from Milan to Bucharest which landed safely at its destination, and another scheduled to fly from Milan to Warsaw which landed safely in Vienna after it was diverted.

The airline said it was “co-operating fully with the relevant authorities” and taking “all necessary steps to ensure the safety of everyone onboard”.

It added: “The safety and security of our passengers and crew remain our highest priority.”

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Airlinesthepointsguy.com5 Nov

United Airlines gives Traverse City, Michigan, its first-ever nonstops to California

United Airlines is connecting its two West Coast hubs to northern Michigan.

Next summer, the carrier will launch nonstop service to Traverse City, Michigan, from both Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

The two routes will launch on June 19 and run through the peak summer season, according to details shared Thursday by Cherry Capital Airport (TVC). The airport touted the service as something that would give TVC its "first-ever coast-to-coast nonstop footprint."

Traverse City is a popular summer destination, situated on the banks of Grand Traverse Bay, an arm of Lake Michigan.

The region is also home to the famous National Cherry Festival each summer. That century-old extravaganza — which includes an air show — will feature the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels in 2027.

United will operate its California service to Traverse City on Saturdays through the summer.

However, the carrier will also offer flights on select Wednesdays — including before and after the cherry festival.

United will operate a Boeing 737-800 on the route, according to the airport.

That aircraft features 16 domestic first-class recliners across four rows up front, and 150 seats in the main cabin (the number of extra-legroom Economy Plus seats vary from one jet to another)

While United’s Los Angeles and San Francisco routes to TVC are new, the carrier is no stranger to the region.

United already offers service to the airport from each of its other mainland U.S. hubs — including Chicago, Denver, Houston, and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).

On top of the two Traverse City routes, United announced additional new service from San Francisco.

The carrier will launch flights to Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) on March 29. That route will operate twice per week, year-round.

Traverse City and Jacksonville give United a total of seven new routes from its Bay Area hub in just the last couple of weeks.

Several of those flights are new transcontinental service, including routes to Hartford, Conn.; Richmond and Norfolk, Va; and Charleston, S.C.

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Airlinestravelweek.ca5 Nov

What do you do when clients show up with AI research that doesn’t add up?

TORONTO — A lot of work goes into crafting a well thought out travel itinerary. Travel advisors can spend hours researching accommodations, coordinating budgets and logistics, booking flights and curating experiences to match each client’s preferences.

Imagine, then, the frustration of having a client arrive with their own research and AI-generated itinerary that looks impressive on screen but falls apart when it comes time to book.

That is one of the key findings from Goway’s recent Confessions of a Travel Advisor Survey, which asked 1,600 travel advisors across North America to share their experiences. The survey found that 89% of respondents have had clients arrive with their own AI research, while 14% identified the “I researched this on AI” planner as among the most challenging types of clients to work with.

From impossible itineraries and made-up recommendations to budgets that bear little resemblance to real travel costs, the findings highlight a growing challenge for advisors as generative AI becomes part of how consumers research their holidays. Travellers who once arrived with a destination in mind may now come equipped with a detailed itinerary, suggested hotels and an estimated budget generated in seconds.

For Dan Christian, host and founder of the Travel Trends podcast, the speed at which AI produces these plans is a major factor in shaping expectations.

“The biggest shift is how quickly an idea becomes an expectation. Someone asks ChatGPT to plan a two-week trip, and seconds later they have this beautifully presented itinerary with hotels, restaurants and a budget. You can understand why they get excited. The challenge comes when they take that to an advisor and discover that the price isn’t realistic, the connections don’t work or some of the recommendations can’t be booked.”

According to Goway’s survey results, advisors are encountering three recurring problems with AI-generated travel plans: itineraries that ignore geography and logistics, recommendations for places or services that do not exist and budgets that are unrealistic.

The most common complaint is that AI plans trips without accounting for the realities of travel. An itinerary might cram several destinations into a few days without considering transfer times, flight connections, opening hours or the exhaustion that comes with constantly moving between hotels.

Christian tells Travelweek the problem is that a convincing itinerary is not necessarily a workable one.

“Travel is complicated! Anyone who has put together a multi-day trip knows how many moving parts there are. Change one flight or one hotel, and it can affect everything that follows.”

General-purpose AI tools can generate detailed plans without verifying every connection, opening time or booking condition. Even when a tool has access to current information, that does not guarantee that all the components of an itinerary will work together.

Christian also points to the difference between what is technically possible and what makes for an enjoyable holiday.

“You might be able to visit three cities in five days, but do you want to spend that much of your holiday checking out of hotels and getting to the next one? An experienced advisor knows when to say, ‘Let’s take something out. You’ll enjoy this much more if you slow down.’”

Another concern is ‘AI hallucinations’. One in 10 advisors surveyed by Goway reported outright fabrications, including attractions, hotels, restaurants, flights and transportation routes that do not exist.

Unrealistic pricing is a third recurring issue, with AI suggesting luxury trips at implausibly low prices, first-class airfare well below market rates and multi-country itineraries on budgets that do not reflect the actual cost.

For advisors, correcting these assumptions can take time, particularly when clients have already become attached to the itinerary AI has produced.

Renee Stanton-Defaria, Senior Director of Sales at Goway, says advisors are adapting to the new reality, and that the errors in AI-generated research can reinforce the value of their expertise.

“We’re hearing that advisors are doing well at adjusting to this new reality. In so many cases, the AI research clients bring to advisors is full of errors. This actually boosts the confidence of advisors, becuase whether it was ineffective prompts to start with, or just AI hallucinations, we can still clearly see that the human element is essential.”

Rather than dismissing a client’s AI-generated itinerary, Christian recommends using it as a starting point for a conversation about what the traveller really wants.

“I’d start by saying, ‘Great, show me what you’ve found.’ They’ve just given you a really useful insight into the trip they’re excited about. That’s a good place to begin.”

The next step is to understand what appeals to the client. Is it a particular hotel, the destinations, an experience or the price? Once those priorities are clear, the advisor can explain what needs to change and why.

“I’d give you another night here, change this connection and use a local operator I trust for that experience,” Christian suggests as an example of how an advisor can make their expertise visible through specific recommendations.

He also encourages advisors to be transparent about their use of AI. Rather than positioning themselves against the technology, they can explain how they use it to support their work while making clear that the information still needs to be checked.

“The important thing is how you use it. Asking another AI tool whether the client’s itinerary is correct isn’t enough. Check the details with suppliers, booking systems and people who know the destination.”

Christian also emphasizes the importance of being clear about planning fees. Reviewing a client’s itinerary, verifying assumptions and making the trip workable are professional services, even when the initial research comes from the traveller.

“You don’t have to start again, but you do need to take ownership of what you recommend,” he says.

For Goway, the growing use of AI reinforces the importance of human expertise, particularly in tailor-made travel.

Stanton-Defaria says the company remains confident in its position in the tailor-made travel market, where complex itineraries and individual client needs call for deep destination knowledge.

“Our Destination Specialists will always be able to instill confidence and trust in a way no computer program ever could.”

Christian identifies relationships, judgement and having someone to turn to when something goes wrong as key areas where advisors demonstrate their value.

“Knowing who to call, which operator you trust and who can help when plans change can make an enormous difference to someone’s trip.”

He also points to the importance of understanding the individual traveller. A client may ask for the same holiday their friends enjoyed, but further questions can reveal different priorities and lead to a more suitable recommendation.

Rather than making broad claims about what AI cannot do, Christian encourages advisors to demonstrate their value through real examples, such as helping a family select the right trip, arranging a special experience through a supplier relationship or supporting a client through a disruption.

The goal, he says, is not to reject new technology but to use it to improve service.

“Our Summit theme this year is ‘Beyond AI,’ and for me that means getting past the excitement around the technology and asking what it helps us do better. For an advisor, that could mean less time on routine administration and more time getting to know clients and looking after them.”

As AI becomes a more common part of travel research, advisors may increasingly find themselves refining plans that clients have already started building rather than creating every itinerary from scratch.

For Christian, that shift does not diminish the advisor’s role. It makes the ability to assess information, exercise judgement and deliver on a traveller’s expectations all the more important.

“That’s the future I’m excited about: better tools, stronger relationships and more time for the people we’re here to serve.”

This article originally appears in Travelweek’s Nov. 5 issue. To read the issue, click here.

Cindy is Deputy Editor at Travelweek and has worked for the company since 2007. She has travelled to more than 50 countries and counts Kenya, Morocco, Thailand and Turkey among her favourite destinations.

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Airlinessimpleflying.com5 Nov

Breeze Airways Launches 15 New Routes From Major Airport: See Full List Now

Journalist – Aaron is an aviation and travel journalist with 14 years of experience in the travel and tourism industry. His background spans airport operations, aviation infrastructure, and travel consulting, having worked with global organizations across New Zealand, Europe, and North America. Combining industry expertise with firsthand travel experience across more than 52 countries and five continents, Aaron covers airlines, airports, aviation policy, and the wider travel sector. He is based in Canterbury, New Zealand.

His work has been published in Simple Flying and featured by MSN, SAM CHUI Aviation & Travel, EIN News, Pakistan Defence, and Climate Depot.

One of the newest commercial airlines in the United States, Breeze Airways, since its inception in 2021, has quickly developed an extensive network of secondary routes across the country. The Utah-based low-cost carrier primarily operates on routes with no competition, focusing on secondary airports and bypassing the big, dominated hubs.

Breeze is adding a total of 15 routes from Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) between May 2026 and June 2027, as the airline continues to develop its network. The airline operates a fleet of more than 60 Airbus A220-300 aircraft.

Breeze has rapidly expanded its reach from Raleigh-Durham, and the airport has quickly risen to become the airline's busiest airport with weekly departures. The airline, this November alone, will operate an average of 162 weekly departures, making the airline the fifth busiest at the North Carolina airport.

Raleigh has become a top-performing destination for the carrier, with the airline's Chief Executive Officer David Neeleman describing strong, consistent passenger demand and high load factors. This has resulted in the airline continuing to expand its reach from the airport, with 15 new routes.

In this list, Breeze adds 13 new domestic services, while two new international routes take flight, which include the popular tourist destination of Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) in the Dominican Republic, and Nassau (NAS) in the Bahamas in time for next summer. The international services are detailed in the table above.

Taking into consideration the route to Punta Cana, May this year was the airline's biggest month for new routes from Raleigh. The airline added six additional domestic links, reaching as far as California, Florida, Maine, New York, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Part of this May expansion saw the carrier add Bangor International Airport (BGR), Madison (MSN), Newburgh / Stewart (SWF), San Antonio International Airport (SAT), Santa Ana / Orange County (SNA), and Vero Beach (VRB). No other airline competes with Breeze Airways directly on any of these routes, further highlighting the airline's dominance when serving secondary cities and airports.

In June, Breeze added its own service from Raleigh to Atlantic City International Airport (ACY). In July, this was followed by nonstop flights to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) and Tallahassee (TLH).

As the airline continues to push its dominance at Raleigh, in October, Breeze added a nonstop link to its hometown of Provo (PVU) in Utah. This will be followed by a service to James M Cox Dayton International Airport (DAY) in Ohio this November.

Over the winter, as seasonal services taper back for the cooler months, the airline will not relaunch a new route until June next year. In June 2027, Breeze plans to add three new links from Raleigh, including Nassau in the sun-soaked Bahamas. This new international service will then be complemented by Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) and Las Vegas (LAS), which will then take flight.

Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines

As already mentioned, Raleigh is Breeze's largest airport by weekly departures, ahead of close rivals Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Tampa International Airport (TPA). These are the only three current airports in the airline's network to register more than 100 weekly departing flights.

Found an error? Send it info@simpleflying.com so it can be corrected.

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