[#7] World's Best Airlines / Gen Z travelers / Flight Hacking

This month's recap of travel stories, tourism trends and news

Dear Reader,

Welcome to this month’s recap of authentic travel stories, tourism trends and news - seen through the eyes of an industry insider and curious traveler. More about me here.

Enjoy reading!

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#1 - Flight hacking…for everyone 🛠✈️

99% of the times I look for flights on Google Flights (especially complex ones) and later book on the airline’s website.

But recently I found the same flight option on Kiwi.com -a platform that (simply put) uncovers and lets you book “alternative” flight combinations. So, I decided to give it a try.

What made me switch?

Firstly, instead of buying 3 separate tickets on the airline website, I could do just 1 booking; Secondly, a user-friendly interface explaining the “risks” of buying separate tickets and self-transfers.

And of course, a 20€ promo code I could use immediately for my booking.

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#2 - World’s Best Airlines in 2024 🏆

This week the ranking of “World’s Best Airlines in 2024” was released. Customers rated the entire traveler journey, from online booking to cabin service. These were the top 3:

1. Qatar Airways

2. Singapore Airlines

3. Emirates

How is the experience flying one of the world’s best airlines?

I've tried the Economy and Business class on Qatar Airways. As someone who flies frequently, two differentiating factors are the attentiveness of the cabin service and quality of food.

And if I had to pick one factor making the difference between Economy and Business? Definitely the comfort of beds combined with on-demand meals -especially on long overnight flights.

Here’s the full list of World’s best Airlines in 2024.

Have you ever flown with one of these airlines? How was your experience?

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#3 - Gen Z and their travel habits 🤳🌱

Gen Z travelers (born mid 90s - early 2010s) are a “powerful and influential demographic”, according to Hopper’s latest report. Some other key findings:

• Wi-Fi is the #1 ranked hotel amenity by Gen Z

• Young travelers use social media during travel planning nearly 7x more than boomers and 53% more than Gen Xers

• Eco-tourism is a growing trend among younger travelers

The report also suggests ways for hospitality and tourism providers to attract Gen Z travelers, for example by providing frictionless checkout experiences and flexible booking conditions.

More insights here.

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#4 In case you missed it…

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#5 - Other travel news 🗞

• Overtourism effects from Mt. Everest to Maya Bay in Thailand: Sometimes, the planet’s hotspots are best left unvisited

• As hotels and airlines try to increase direct bookings, online travel giants spent a combined $4.08 billion on sales and marketing in Q1 2024

• What’s the Best Influencer Marketing Strategy: Mega or Micro? This research suggests a new framework to evaluate the value of influencers

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