This week, Eye On Travel broadcasts from Anaheim, California. Mike Boyd, President of the Boyd Aviation Group, talks with Peter about the investigation and fallout of the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes and their possible connection to past disasters. And then, if necessity is the mother of invention, Peter has a timely conversation with CEO of CLEAR Caryn Seidman-Becker about its direct impact on the passenger airport security experience. Roger Dow, President and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, discusses the different approaches in marketing strategies between Hilton and Marriott as well as the steady rate of travel prices. Kelly Craighead, President and CEO of Cruise Lines International Association, on the growth of the cruise industry and the surprising number of cruise ships expected to be sailing by 2027. And Johnny Jet, Founder of JohnnyJet.com, on some new special unknown travel apps as well as some secret Twitter travel tricks that he’s been using. There’s all this and more as Eye on Travel broadcasts from Anaheim, California.
Click here to listen to the show streaming live from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 13, 2019.
Roger Dow, U.S Travel Association President & CEO, discusses his different approaches in marketing strategies for both Hilton and Marriott hotels. With around 50 different Hilton and Marriott properties, Dow discusses how he differentiates marketing for each, who his target audience is, and how to maintain those brands. Dow also discusses the challenges of companies, such as Accor, that buy up hotel brands around the world as well as the introduction of “lifestyle” hotels by popular retail name brands. Dow also talks about the changing tourism industry and how tours must now differentiate their services and products in order to win customers, similar to how travel agents have been forced to adjust as well in recent years.
Kelly Craighead, President & CEO of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), discusses how the cruise industry has grown within travel. In the last year, 28.5 million people have taken a cruise. This year, it is projected that 30 million will take a cruise, but to Craighead, that is still relatively small. Over the last decade, the number of ports worldwide accepting cruise ships has more than doubled, from 500 to 1,200, and there are expected to be 118 new cruise lines sailing by 2027. Craighead also discusses the entrance of retail brands into cruising and the appeal of repositioning cruises.
Mike Boyd, President of the Boyd Aviation Group, discusses the ongoing investigation of the crash of two Boeing 737 MAX planes and how past aircraft disasters could be a crucial component in unlocking this investigation. He also draws comparisons of faulty maintenance on a DC-10 crash in Chicago, which happened 40 years ago and was the worst aviation disaster in U.S. history. The negligence of that case could be similar to the type shown in the case of the Boeing 737 MAX. Boyd also examines how Boeing is fighting for its reputation in the aviation industry and how it can come back from something like this.
Dan Reed, Senior Contributor for Airlines and Transportation at Forbes.com, discusses brand messaging for airlines and which airlines actually live up to their messages. He talks about big airlines like American, Delta, and United and how their “bragging” about on-time departure is misleading due to still having only a 75% rate along with a government-implemented 15 minute cushion. He also discusses aircraft technology that incorrectly displays on-time departure when it could really mean that a departure from the gate happened 10 minutes after the flight was supposed to be in the air already.
Johnny Jet, Founder of JohnnyJet.com, joins the show to talk about the latest and newest in the world of travel apps – including a new alarm application that wakes you up via different bird sounds (Jet got it for his dad). He then discusses a great app to use in New York City’s Times Square and what he’s been using it for lately. Finally, he talks about a Twitter trick that he’s been using to manage traffic when going to or leaving from a traffic-frenzied LAX airport, which also means no more missing flights for him!
Caryn Seidman-Becker, CEO of CLEAR, discusses the direct impact of CLEAR on the passenger airport security experience.
