George Mwangi

American enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) provider NLX raised $12 million in Series A funding for operational expansion and development efforts. JetBlue's venture capital division, JetVlue Ventures, contributed to the funding round. Meanwhile, United Airlines and Copa Airlines have worked with NLX to incorporate AI into their operations.

A United Airlines flight from Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) to Salt Lake City (SLC) was forced to return to Chicago due to a maintenance issue on March 9. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), there was a possible oil warning light issue.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened a criminal investigation into the incident involving an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft. The DOJ announced this investigation on March 9, over two months after the incident occurred.

LIFT Aircraft, an American electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) company, recently launched the world's first eVTOL pay-per-flight experience. This experience allows regular passengers to fly their own personal electric aircraft without buying one. LIFT announced the service launch alongside a live broadcast flight of its aircraft, HEXA, on ABC's Good Morning America (GMA).

Sports tourism is one of the fastest-growing areas of the travel industry, with an increasing number of travelers making trips based entirely on attending sports events. 2024 will be a strong year for sports tourism due to high-profile events like the Summer Olympics in Paris.

Multiple airlines offer ultra-long-haul flights to Australia and New Zealand to accommodate high demand among international travelers. Eight of the world's 20 longest nonstop routes by distance involve four destinations: Auckland (AKL), Melbourne (MEL), Perth (PER), and Sydney (SYD). These are the world's longest flights serving Australia and New Zealand.

In-flight entertainment is a key part of the passenger experience, especially on long-haul flights. Many airlines have entire teams devoted to providing a strong selection of in-flight entertainment for their passengers. Airlines aim to appeal to film and TV enthusiasts amid the rise of film tourism: making trips based entirely around movies or TV shows.

Anyone interested in travel has likely visited France or has the country on their bucket list. France's popularity as a travel destination means that several Canadian, French, and American carriers offer nonstop flights between North America and France. These airlines have announced new flights ahead of the busy summer travel season, with this year being especially memorable because of the Paris Olympics.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are becoming more popular in Asia after signing Shohei Ohtani and playing two games in Seoul. The team is targeting its Asian fans through its two official airlines: All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Starlux Airlines.

Several Middle Eastern countries closed their airspace to flights after Iran launched a drone attack against Israel on April 13. This drone attack comes a few days after an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus killed seven officers from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Multiple airlines canceled or diverted flights flying over the region amid the worsening geopolitical environment.