United States

LAWA announces organizational changes to support modernization program

Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) has appointed Justin Erbacci as Chief Operating Officer, effective Aug. 5. Erbacci succeeds Samson Mengistu, who is retiring after more than 25 years at LAWA. Erbacci, who has been with LAWA since July 2016, was most recently Chief Innovation and Commercial Strategy Officer and Deputy Executive Director, leading the Terminal Development and Improvement […]

Miami International Airport reveals plans for a $5 billion expansion

Miami International Airport executives have revealed plans for a $5 billion Capital Improvement Project. Miami International Airport Director Lester Sola recently briefed the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners Transportation and Finance Committee on a 15-year construction plan that could cost as much as $5 billion. The plan covers construction from next year through 2035. The new plan, […]

3Sixty celebrates grand opening of the first 3Sixty Duty Free More store at Charlotte Douglas International Airport

  Among a bustling crowd of morning passengers last week, Miami-based duty free company 3Sixty unveiled its first rebranded airport store at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The 1200 sq. foot Charlotte store is the first physical implementation of the 3Sixty Duty Free & More brand after the launch last October, and features both store-front signage […]

Travel Markets Insider: One on One with Gregg Paradies, president and CEO, Paradies Lagardère

In August 2015, Lagardère Travel Retail made news by acquiring one of North Americas leading and most respected airport travel retailers, Atlanta-based family-owned Paradies. The new company – Paradies Lagardère – covers most of the top U.S. and Canadian airports and is a major player in the North American industry. Company President and CEO Gregg […]

Stellar Partners, Inc. announces agreement to acquire Pacific Gateway Concessions

Florida-based travel retail company Stellar Partners, Inc. has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Pacific Gateway Concessions (PGC). The acquisition continues the company’s strategic growth plan as a leading North American airport retailer and will increase its portfolio combined to 99 award-winning news/convenience and specialty stores in 20 airports throughout the United States. […]

Hudson Group celebrates the grand opening of Empire State Building Official Store

Hudson Group, in partnership with Empire State Realty Trust, last week unveiled their Empire State Building Official Store, as part of the reimagined Empire State Building Observatory experience. Located on the 2nd floor at the point of exit, the newly renovated 4,500 sq. ft. retail space offers over 800 items exclusive to the property, including […]

LAX sets another record for passengers in 2018

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) set a new all-time record for passenger traffic in 2018 with 87.5 million travelers, up 3.52% over 2017’s previous record. International passenger traffic slightly outpaced overall traffic growth at LAX, with a record-setting 26 million international travelers last year. More than 61 million domestic passengers traveled through LAX. In 2018, nonstop […]

Chicago O’Hare and Atlanta battle for title of busiest airport — again

Chicago O’Hare International Airport is once again officially the busiest airport in the U.S. in terms of aircraft operations, jumping ahead of Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson for the first time since 2014. According to Federal Aviation Administration data, O’Hare handled more than 903,000 arrivals and departures during 2018, just ahead of Atlanta which had 895,000 arrivals and […]

DFW named Air Transport World’s 2019 Global Airport of the Year

Dallas Fort Worth International (DFW) Airport has been recognized as the 2019 Airport of the Year by Air Transport World (ATW). The award recognizes DFW’s innovation in providing a world-class customer experience, global leadership in sustainability, cost effective and efficient operations, excellent partnership with airlines, and collaboration with local communities to further develop the economic benefits […]

U.S. travel industry could lose $100 million a day during government shutdown

The partial federal government shutdown could reach a cost of more than $100 million daily for the U.S. economy just through the impact on travel, according to a preliminary calculation by the U.S. Travel Association’s economic research department. This includes a daily cost of nearly $50 million in direct domestic travel spending, plus more than $50 million in indirect and induced […]

Stellar Partners: Susan Stackhouse retires; Padraig Drennan named President & CEO

Stellar Partners, Inc. founder & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Susan Stackhouse is retiring after leading the company for 30 years and Padraig Drennan,  President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) since 2017, will take over the role of President and CEO for the organization. “I am proud of Stellar’s success over the years. Now the time is […]