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AI shifts power in travel distribution from visibility to trust

AI shifts power in travel distribution from visibility to trust

Artificial Intelligence is shifting power in travel distribution away from visibility and toward trust, redefining how travelers discover, evaluate and book experiences. Rather than eliminating intermediaries, AI is reshaping where value — and control — sits across the travel ecosystem. As travelers increasingly rely on AI assistants to plan trips, the industry is moving from a search-driven model to one where algorithms decide what gets seen — and what gets sold.

12Go Launches a ChatGPT App, Opening Asia's Largest Ground & Sea Transport Network to AI-Travellers

12Go Launches a ChatGPT App, Opening Asia's Largest Ground & Sea Transport Network to AI-Travellers

12Go, the leading ground and sea transport brand in Asia and part of the Travelier group, today launches a ChatGPT App, bringing its large choice of buses, ferries, trains, and multimodal routes across Asia directly into ChatGPT. For the first time, travelers worldwide can use natural language to search and compare transport across Asia's most fragmented transport ecosystems — and book in seconds once redirected to 12Go's website and App.

RMS Partners with Pride of Britain Hotels to Strengthen UK  Luxury Hotel Offering

RMS Partners with Pride of Britain Hotels to Strengthen UK Luxury Hotel Offering

RMS, a leading global hospitality technology platform, has announced a new partnership with Pride of Britain Hotels (PoB Hotels), a curated collection of over 50 of the UK’s finest independent luxury properties. The partnership reflects a shared commitment to supporting independent hotels as they navigate rising guest expectations, operational complexity and increasing competition, while staying true to the individuality that defines them.

Wizz Air and HTS launch disruption assistance, supporting passengers from delays

Wizz Air and HTS launch disruption assistance, supporting passengers from delays

Wizz Air, a leading airline in Central and Eastern Europe, and HTS, a leading global travel technology platform, today announced a partnership to integrate a new solution to help customers navigate disruptions on wizzair.com and the Wizz Air app. Wizz Air, which aims to carry around 80 million passengers in 2026, is now the first European carrier to offer HTS’ novel rebooking service – Disruption Assistance. This product offers real-time rebooking options when disruptions occur and does not yet fall into the scope of EC261 regulation[1], helping travelers get to their final destination, saving time and money.

Ireckonu appoints Jamie Cole as Chief Commercial Officer

Ireckonu appoints Jamie Cole as Chief Commercial Officer

Ireckonu, a leading provider of middleware and customer data platforms for the hospitality industry, today announces the appointment of Jamie Cole as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), reinforcing its leadership team as the company enters its next phase of global growth. Jamie is a seasoned industry professional with a strong hospitality background across global brands including InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Hilton, and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. He brings a valuable client-side perspective, with a deep understanding of how large hotel groups operate, the complexities they face at scale, and what they need to succeed in increasingly competitive and AI data-driven environments. Having known Ireckonu both as a client and now from within the business, he offers a well-informed view of how the platform is already differentiated and where there are opportunities to scale further.

Emirates’ iconic A380 returns to Dubai with world-first Starlink Wi-Fi onboard

Emirates’ iconic A380 returns to Dubai with world-first Starlink Wi-Fi onboard

Emirates’ flagship A380, long celebrated as one of aviation’s most iconic aircraft, is set to reach new heights as the first installation of next-generation Starlink Wi-Fi onboard has just been completed. The Emirates A380 was one of the first commercial aircraft in the world to offer internet to its customers, with first generation systems offering a total aircraft bandwidth of less than 1 Mbps. Emirates’ installation of three Starlink antennas on each A380 will improve the Wi-Fi available onboard a thousand-fold - offering a ‘better than at home’ connectivity experience for customers, while flying at 40,000 feet.

PKFARE Partners with Wano and AirAsia MOVE to Launch Flight + Hotel Packaging

PKFARE Partners with Wano and AirAsia MOVE to Launch Flight + Hotel Packaging

PKFARE, a leading global travel wholesaler, today announced the launch of a flight + hotel packaging partnership with Wano, a B2B travel distribution platform, and AirAsia MOVE, a leading online travel agency (OTA) in Asean - both under Capital A’s portfolio of businesses. This collaboration marks PKFARE’s expansion into hotel packaging services. Under the collaboration, Wano manages distribution of flights and AirAsia MOVE drives consumer demand, while PKFARE powers the underlying technology infrastructure that integrates inventory, pricing, and real-time packaging capabilities into a unified system.

LuminoCity Dino Safari Festival Debuts in Metro Charlotte May 6-June 14

LuminoCity Dino Safari Festival Debuts in Metro Charlotte May 6-June 14

LuminoCity Festival will make its debut in metro Charlotte with the LuminoCity Dino Safari Festival, an immersive, walk-through dinosaur lights experience opening May 6 at Concord Mills. The outdoor pop-up event runs through June 14 and features more than 100,000 square feet of illuminated installations, animatronic dinosaurs, and interactive attractions.

Korean Air delivers 5,000 Airbus A320 Sharklets

Korean Air delivers 5,000 Airbus A320 Sharklets

Korean Air has delivered its 5,000th Sharklet for the Airbus A320 family, marking a key milestone in its aerostructures business and reinforcing its role in the global aerospace supply chain. Korean Air marked the achievement with a ceremony on April 23 at its Busan Tech Center. Attendees toured Korean Air’s aerostructure manufacturing and MRO facilities, and Korean Air recognized 15 partner companies for their contribution to the program.

Travel Beyond the Surface: Exploring Hidden Worlds with a Microscope pocket

Travel Beyond the Surface: Exploring Hidden Worlds with a Microscope pocket

Travel is usually associated with the captivation of beautiful scenery, landmark sites, and unforgettable moments. However, can the actual magic of your journey be the small details that you tend to ignore? A microscope camera is a brand new realm in traveling; it gives you the chance to see the unseen beauty in the tiniest of things in nature. Starting with leaves and insects and all the way to sand grains and tree barks, this portable device will turn each journey into an exciting adventure.

KAYAK Launches Ask AI to Simplify Travel Planning Just in Time for the World Cup

KAYAK Launches Ask AI to Simplify Travel Planning Just in Time for the World Cup

KAYAK today introduced Ask AI, a new conversational travel planning experience designed to help travelers search, compare, and book trips more easily, as interest surges ahead of this summer's World Cup. Building on KAYAK's mission to make travel search more personalized and conversational, Ask AI is an industry first that lets travelers start planning their trip in a chat—while flight, hotel, and rental car results update live alongside the conversation, combining the ease of AI with the power of a traditional results page.