{"id":93959,"date":"2015-12-28T15:01:15","date_gmt":"2015-12-28T14:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/turkeyalwan.net\/?p=93959"},"modified":"2016-01-24T22:23:51","modified_gmt":"2016-01-24T21:23:51","slug":"2015-in-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/turkeyalwan.net\/2015\/12\/28\/2015-in-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10: the biggest travel stories of 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday newsletters<\/a>\u00a0always feature\u00a0top 10 travel lists<\/a>\u00a0to inspire.<\/p>\n

Today (December\u00a028, 2015): top 10: the most important travel stories of 2015.<\/strong><\/h5>\n

As we wind down 2015, it’s time to\u00a0start planning that dream vacation. I am\u00a0excited to share with you in my 2016 blogposts some great upcoming trips such as flying Etihad’s Airbus A380 First Class, a holiday at the Maldives’ most luxurious resort<\/a>, a tour in Japan, a hiking trip in the Canadian Rockies, and a stay at Bora Bora’s Four Seasons and St Regis resorts (but more on that next week). Now, it’s time to look back at 2015. Last week, I already published\u00a0my most memorable travel experiences of 2015<\/a>, and\u00a0today, I reflect on\u00a0the 10 biggest stories that dominated the\u00a0travel industry in the past year.<\/p>\n

There is more\u00a0information below the slideshow. \u00a0If you think I forgot one, you can always share\u00a0your opinion in the comments section<\/strong>\u00a0below, or take my poll<\/strong>\u00a0below!<\/p>\n

This slideshow requires JavaScript.<\/p>

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*** Follow me on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0for a daily moment of travel inspiration ***<\/em><\/p>\n

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10. OIL PRICES DROPPED, BUT NOT THE\u00a0AIRFARES<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Today the price of\u00a0a barrel\u00a0of oil is averaging about $38 while it was more than\u00a0$60 last\u00a0summer. This drop in oil prices, the most significant one in\u00a020 years, is a direct consequence of larger oil supplies (thanks to\u00a0US soil oil\u00a0and\u00a0Libyan oil returning to the market) and reduced demand (because of\u00a0a slowdown in the Chinese and EU economies). But although\u00a0the price of oil has slumped almost 50% since last summer, this did not translate in cheaper airfares in 2015 as most\u00a0airlines did not\u00a0cut their fuel surcharges and instead used their\u00a0savings on fuel costs to consolidate\u00a0their businesses. It is predicted though that this will result in increased competition in the skies, eventually leading to\u00a0a drop in flight ticket prices in 2016 to a level that fully reflects the scale of the oil price fall.<\/p>\n

\"VIRGIN<\/a>
VIRGIN ATLANTIC IS ONE OF THE FEW AIRLINES THAT DID CUT FARES IN 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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9. THE GERMANWINGS CRASH SHOCKED THE AVIATION INDUSTRY<\/b><\/h5>\n

Flying is, and\u00a0always has been, the\u00a0safest way of travel. Yet, a terrible crash\u00a0in the French Alps\u00a0gave\u00a0a whole new dimension to\u00a0our great collective primal fear of dying in a plane crash, since it shattered our belief that we\u00a0can always trust the cockpit crew\u00a0with our lives each time we get in a plane.\u00a0On 24 March 2015, a Germanwings Airbus A320, operating Flight 9525 from Barcelona\u00a0to D\u00fcsseldorf was\u00a0intentionally crashed\u00a0by the First Officer, killing all\u00a0150 souls all on board.\u00a0While pilots have\u00a0committed suicide by\u00a0crashing their planes before, it was the first time that such an event got worldwide media coverage. Following the\u00a0crash, most airlines have adopted a new flightdeck-occupancy procedure requiring the presence of two authorised persons on the flightdeck at all times during flight.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A GERMANWINGS AIRBUS A320, SIMILAR TO THE ONE THAT CRASHED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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8. THE BAHA MAR PROJECT IN THE BAHAMAS TURNED INTO A FIASCO<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The $3.5 billion casino resort Baha Mar<\/a>\u00a0in the Bahamas, the largest hospitality project ever in the Caribbean, was supposed to revivify the economy of the island nation, and to include the 1,000-room Baha Mar Casino & Hotel, the 707-room Grand Hyatt at Baha Mar<\/a>, the 300-room SLS Lux at Baha Mar<\/a> and the 200-room Rosewood at Baha Mar<\/a>. Instead, Baha Mar missed all of its\u00a0scheduled opening dates and is now embroiled in a bankruptcy battle because\u00a0of a standoff between the resort and its construction company. As a consequence,\u00a0many travel plans have been interrupted. For example, a\u00a0bride and groom who were scheduled to have their wedding at Baha Mar in June\u00a0were unable to get a refund<\/a>\u00a0for their 100 guests, who had booked hotel rooms and flights to the Bahamas.<\/p>\n

\"THE<\/a>
THE BAHA MAR PROJECT IN THE BAHAMAS FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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7. AIRLINE LOYALTY PROGRAMS DEVALUATED<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Airline loyalty programs took a turn for the worse in\u00a02015, at least from a frequent flyer\u2019s perspective. In April, British Airways Executive Club underwent a substantial devaluation, with a new award chart that has\u00a0off-peak and peak travel dates.\u00a0In the States, Delta and United Airlines\u00a0moved from a system of points for miles flown to a system of points for dollars spent. And unfortunately, in an uninspiring move, American Airlines announced that by the end of 2016, it will introduce copycat\u00a0changes to its\u00a0AAdvantage loyalty program, which I considered to be\u00a0best frequent flyer program in the world<\/a>\u00a0so far.\u00a0While all these changes are made to please the biggest spenders (which are business travelers), it is now\u00a0significantly more difficult for leisure travelers to cash in points for free flights or upgrades.<\/p>\n

\"AMERICAN<\/a>
AMERICAN AIRLINES WILL DEVALUATE ITS AADVANTAGE LOYALTY PROGRAM NEXT YEAR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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6. GIANT HOTEL CHAINS\u00a0MERGED<\/strong><\/h5>\n

While 2015 was marked by devaluation of airline loyalty programs, there is a good chance that 2016 will be the year of hotel loyalty program devaluations. That is because some big\u00a0hotel mergers occurred in 2015. In November,\u00a0Marriott <\/a>acquired\u00a0Starwood<\/a>,\u00a0creating the world\u2019s largest hotel company\u00a0that operates or franchise more than 5,500 hotels with 1.1 million rooms worldwide. And this was followed by the announcement that the French-based hotel chain AccorHotels<\/a>\u00a0acquired FRHI Holdings Ltd, the parent company of\u00a0three of the most prestigious global luxury hotel brands: Raffles<\/a>, Fairmont<\/a>and Swiss\u00f4tel<\/a>. While this may be a good thing to\u00a0broaden Marriott’s and AccorHotels\u2019s geographic footprint in the luxury segment, it will probably result in the devaluation of hotel points.<\/p>\n

\"MYSTIQUE<\/a>
STARWOOD’S MYSTIQUE IN\u00a0SANTORINI\u00a0WILL SOON BE PART OF MARRIOTT’S PORTFOLIO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
5. THE AIRBUS A350 TOOK\u00a0TO THE SKIES<\/strong><\/h5>\n

This year, the\u00a0extra wide body Airbus\u00a0A350<\/a>, which offers\u00a0better air quality, roomier rows, and extra-large windows, entered commercial service. Qatar Airways<\/a>\u00a0was the\u00a0A350 launch customer, but since then, the plane has\u00a0also\u00a0joined the fleet of Finnair<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Vietnam Airlines<\/a>.\u00a0The A350 is the first Airbus with both fuselage\u00a0and wing structures made primarily of carbon fibers.\u00a0Its variants seat 280 to 366 passengers in typical three-class seating layouts.\u00a0The A350 is positioned to succeed the A330 and 340, and compete with the\u00a0Boeing 777 and 787.\u00a0As of today, Airbus had received orders for 775 aircraft from 41 customers worldwide.\u00a0Sinagpore Airlines ordered\u00a0the Ultra-Long Range A350, a variant that will be able to perform flights of up to 19 hours! You can watch a clip of my trip aboard the A350 below:<\/p>\n