In travel news for September 1st, 2022 we talk about American Cruise Lines newest ship, a new Air Travel dashboard from the Department of Transportation, and Disney's exploration into a park membership service.
U.S. Department of Justice Releases Air Travel Dashboard
Today the United States Department of Transportation has launched a dashboard to help airline customers understand how different airlines respond to “controllable” events and what rights they have. A controllable event is one where the airline is at fault, including cancelations and delays. The dashboard is part of the ‘Aviation Consumer Protection website’ and is largely an easy to understand clearing house of the domestic airlines policies. This dashboard from the Department of Transportation came largely in response to a summer travel season that has been, well, difficult. The easiest way to get to the website is to search for ‘Airline Customer Service Dashboard’, we will also post a link to the site in the comments section.
Visit the Arline Customer Service Dashboard
American Cruise Line Christens Newest Ship
River cruises in Europe have been especially difficult this summer with droughts affecting many of the popular rivers. However, many American river cruises have been flourishing thanks to frequent rains and strong demand. To keep up with demand American Cruise Line is continuing to expand their offerings and modernizing their fleet. Yesterday, August 31st American Cruise Lines christened their newest river ship, the American Symphony. This is the cruise lines fifth ship in it’s new modern series of riverboats, the primary distinction of the modern vessel is that there is no paddle wheel. The 5 deck American Symphony carries up to 175 guests. The companies next ship, the American Serenade, will enter service in 2023.
Disney Explores Theme Park Subscriptions
The Walt Disney Company is looking to follow Amazon in captivating and rewarding their customers with a new membership service. Much like the Amazon Prime subscription service, Disney is exploring a membership system that would utilize their theme parks, streaming, and merchandise; according to the wall street journal. While still in the planning phases it looks like the yet to be named membership service would offer discounts and track preferences for better experiences across all their offerings. While we don’t have any specifics yet, given how tightly Disney has been integrating their park experience with current streaming offerings, a membership system that offers a high degree of personalization could raise the bar on Disneys already amazing theme park experience.