Month: March 2024

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Editor’s note: Marriott provided a complimentary two-night stay so TPG could get an inside look at the resort and its amenities. The opinions expressed below are entirely those of the author and weren’t subject to review by Marriott or any external entity.

The Caribbean has no shortage of beautiful, sunny island destinations to escape the winter blues. The dual islands of Antigua & Barbuda were at the top of my list after hearing Antigua’s claim of boasting 365 beaches, one for every day of the year, and being the location of a previous season of Bravo’s ‘Below Deck.’

Following a cheap and cheerful stay at the Royalton Punta Cana Resort & Casino in the Dominican Republic a few years ago, I was keen to try the brand on one of the most picturesque islands imaginable. What better way to de-stress and make the most of a tropical paradise than by not having to lift a finger?

Here’s my review of the Royalton Antigua, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort — and what you should know before booking a stay there.

Related: The best Marriott all-inclusive resorts for a perfect vacation

What is Royalton Antigua?

With 294 all-suite rooms, the Royalton Antigua is a spacious all-inclusive resort on the Caribbean island of Antigua, near Five Islands Village, set on the picturesque Deep Bay. The property is located six miles from the island’s international airport, V. C. Bird International Airport (ANU), about a 20 minute drive, depending on traffic.

Since opening in 2019, guests can earn and redeem Marriott Bonvoy points here as part of the Autograph Collection.

Related: Luxury living in London with Marriott’s first Autograph Collection Residences

The property has an unusual layout on a long, thin block of land due to limited space in front of high elevation, meaning each building and amenity is in roughly a straight line, rather than being built around a central pool or social space.

The benefit of this is that as you cannot see the whole property from any vantage point, everyone is spread out, there are no bottlenecks and it doesn’t feel very big and never felt crowded despite the staff advising me of a 97% occupancy rate during my stay.

How to book Royalton Antigua

Antigua is not a budget destination (you’ll want to consider Mexico or the Dominican Republic if you want to save money in this region), and accommodation prices reflect that. Staying in an all-inclusive property is a great way to ensure you know upfront how much your vacation will cost, as food and drink prices can quickly add up outside of the property.

All-inclusive rates with accommodation, all meals, activities and most drinks (except specialty wine and Champagne) for two guests sharing a base-level mountain view suite start from $373 per night in the low season (where heavy rain is not uncommon), through to $742 per night during the peak seasons, like many dates from December to April. The property is open year-round.

Diamond Club VIP access can be added for around $150 per room per night, depending on the date.

Related: A review of the all-inclusive Royalton Blue Waters in Jamaica

Bonvoy members can redeem 70,000 points per night on off-peak dates and up to 115,000 points per night on peak dates, based on double occupancy.

Here are the best cards for booking Marriott Bonvoy properties, as well as redeeming your points for free nights:

• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card: Earn 185,000 points after you use your new card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first six months of card membership. Offer ends May 1. Annual fee: $650 (see rates and fees)
• Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card: Earn 155,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after using your card to spend $5,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. Offer ends May 1. Annual fee: $250 (see rates and fees)
• Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card: Earn three free night awards (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first three months from your account opening. Certain hotels have resort fees. Annual fee: $95
• Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card: Earn three free night awards after you use your new card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first six months of card membership. Redemption level up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for each bonus free night award, at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy. Certain hotels have resort fees. Annual fee: $125 (see rates and fees)
• Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card: Earn 30,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after using your card to spend $1,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Annual fee: $0
• Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful Credit Card: Earn 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after you spend $4,000 in purchases in the first three months from account opening. Annual fee: $250

The information for the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Rooms are modern, practical and stylish

I was assigned a spacious 452 square foot lagoon view suite on the top floor for my two-night stay, and it had everything I needed, including a comfortable king-size bed, desk with chair, small sofa and large flat-screen television. Slippers and fluffy bathrobes in the closet added a luxurious touch.

There were plenty of outlets to charge devices and everything just worked.

The bathroom featured a double vanity, rain head shower with excellent water pressure and temperature, and was stocked with Royalton-branded toiletries.

A small balcony offered spectacular views, particularly during sunrise and sunset.

The design style was neutral and wasn’t likely to win any cutting-edge design awards, but it provided a few pleasant pops of colors and nods to the local environment. Being an all-inclusive property, the minibar included local beer, soft drinks, water, chips, chocolate and a Diamond Club welcome gift of a bottle of sparkling wine and fresh fruit.

Related: 7 hotels with awesome (and free) minibars

Diamond Club comes packed with benefits

Diamond Club members receive plenty of additional benefits, the most notable being:

• Preferential room locations 
• Personalized butler service available via instant messaging and beach butler services from sunrise to sunset
• Priority reservations at specialty restaurants
• Personalized check-in and checkout at the Diamond Club Lounge, stocked with snacks, appetizers, and sweet treats
• A curated selection of top-tier spirits
• The option to have breakfast overlooking the water at Grazie Trattoria
• Nightly turndown service
• One hour of therapeutic hydrotherapy access 

Rather than check in at the main reception area, I was taken immediately by golf buggy to the Diamond Club Lounge, which is much closer to the guestrooms for check-in. This space has additional snacks available all day for Diamond Club guests and more premium spirits than at the regular bars, including Don Julio tequila, Grey Goose vodka, Hendricks gin and Hennessy cognac.

The butler service during my stay was terrific, with a morning and evening butler checking in with me via WhatsApp several times per day to see if there was anything they could do to assist, and the beach butler service meant I never needed to lift a finger as I worked on my tan.

With the specialty restaurants requiring reservations (and preference given to Diamond Club guests), having the Diamond Club butlers arrange reservations for each meal was a great perk.

You don’t need to travel to the Maldives for an overwater bungalow

Royalton’s best accommodations are the six Chairman’s Overwater Bungalows, a unique feature in the Caribbean and the first of its kind in Antigua.

A staggering 1,442 square feet each, these bungalows don’t come cheap, starting from $2,600 per night in low season.

They were booked solid during my peak time stay, but I got to have a quick peek inside one between a checkout and check-in and was wowed by what I saw.

The spacious bedroom led to a huge bathroom with a hot tub featuring dreamy ocean views.

Underneath the living room coffee table was a glass floor to spot any local sea creatures coming to say hello.

My favorite part of the overwater bungalows was the private deck with a plunge pool, sun loungers and a hammock to take in the Caribbean sunshine.

If you fancy the bucket list experience of a luxury overwater bungalow but don’t want to travel to the Maldives or Bora Bora, you can experience this on the island of Antigua.

Related: Which is better: The Maldives or Bora Bora?

Plenty of dining options with varying food

The Royalton Antigua has a range of dining options from a sunrise coffee to late night snacks and cocktails. Here is what I was able to try out during my two-night stay:

Gourmet Marche buffet

The hotel’s main buffet restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and does not require reservations. There were plenty of seating options, and sitting outside was especially lovely to enjoy the warm, tropical air.

I sampled the food here for breakfast, and there were many options with plenty of American favorites like bacon, scrambled eggs, pancakes, donuts, bagels and egg stations where the friendly chefs cooked omelets to order. Everything was tasty, though not particularly high-end — given the tropical location, I hoped to see more exotic fruit options than just watermelon, pineapple and oranges.

Hunter steak house

Royalton Antigua featured the same steak house as the Royalton I visited in the Dominican Republic, right down to the same decor and menu. Reservations are required — it was easy to score a booking through my Diamond Club concierge, and those without Diamond Club could secure a table after just a short wait.

While I enjoyed my mixed grill in the Punta Cana location, my rib eye steak in Antigua looked excellent and was served with a smile but was unfortunately very overcooked and tough despite ordering it medium rare.

Grazie Trattoria

Another familiar sight from my Punta Cana stay was the Italian restaurant Grazie Trattoria. I wasn’t wowed by dinner there previously, so decided to take advantage of the Diamond Club perk of eating breakfast in this beautiful setting overlooking the water and the bungalows.

It was a lovely start to the day with excellent staff on hand offering espresso coffee, fresh juices, smoothies and eggs how you like them.

I recommend breakfast here over the main buffet if you have Diamond Club access.

Caribbean restaurant and grill

Hidden away behind Grazie is a Carribean restaurant I didn’t even realize was there until my butler pointed it out. This was the best meal of my stay, with a delicious acapulco-style ceviche followed by a hearty local curried lamb stew, though the coconut shrimp appetizer was a miss, tasting like the shrimp had been cooked from frozen.

Score Brewhouse

I was excited to see a beer hall advertised as one of the hospitality venues offering a range of craft beers. First impressions were good, with half a dozen beer taps installed on the bar, and plenty of beer-themed artwork promoting different varieties of beer from across the world.

Seeking to quench my thirst in the tropical heat, I excitedly asked what beers the bartender had to offer. Imagine my surprise when he sheepishly informed me only one beer, Carib, was available, this being the same beer available at the pool bar, in the restaurants and stocked in the minibar.

While Carib was an acceptable lager, and I recognize craft beers can be difficult to source on a tropical island (though I did find a genuine craft brewery on the island), this seemed like a huge missed opportunity for a premium all-inclusive resort to only stock one type of beer in its purpose-built brewhouse.

The pool and beach celebrate the best of antigua

The resort is located on Deep Bay, and while Antigua boasts 365 beaches (one for every day of the year), Deep Bay was among the best I saw on the island. The picture-perfect, white-crystal sand and warm, turquoise-blue waters were heavenly and surely why people travel to this region.

All beaches in Antigua are public, and a few times a day, a boat tour would pull into the bay to show some cruise ship daytrippers just how beautiful it was.

You know your resort is on an outstanding beach when its a tourist attraction for someone with only a few hours to see the island.

The pool setup at the back of the beach was substantial, with plenty of sun loungers available despite the high occupancy during my peak-time stay.

I appreciated the range of seating options, from right on the sand to next to the pool to the private cabanas that could be rented for an additional cost.

The swim-up bar mixed cocktails until sunset for the thirsty crowd, with Diamond Club guests offered sunlounger food and drink service. Don’t expect bespoke, artisan cocktails, but the frozen strawberry daiquiri hit the spot on a hot day.

The vibe got quite merry late afternoon, but I would not describe this as a party resort. While families are welcome here (and there is even a kids club), I would say 90% of the guests were in the 30-60-year age bracket.

Nightly entertainment is surprisingly good

I’ve witnessed plenty of nighttime entertainment at all-inclusive resorts, from low-budget celebrity impersonators to an impressive acrobatic show in the lobby at Zoetry Punta Cana.

On the first night of my stay was a “Carnival show” at 9 p.m. with a local dance troupe brought in for the occasion. This was a well-produced and fun celebration of Antiguan music, traditional dress and culture, complete with some obligatory audience participation.

While I didn’t don a headdress, it created a great atmosphere and was a fun way to learn more about the island’s history in an entertaining format.

Related: This is how you do a luxury all-inclusive: Zoetry Mallorca, bookable with Hyatt points

Service went above and beyond

This was the eighth Caribbean island I have visited and the best service I have experienced in the region. Everyone I interacted with had a broad smile and a welcoming demeanor and excelled at hospitality. There were plenty of gentle jokes about how my two-night stay at the property was far too short to enjoy the best of the Caribbean.

I appreciated how personalized the Diamond Club experience was, with my butler often coming to find me in the public areas like the pool and beach to check how I was doing, have a polite chat and see if there was anything they could do to improve my stay.

Though the food was not faultless, the service at each meal was. I also noted how proactive the staff would be — I never had to ask for anything, which was not my experience at other Caribbean destinations.

Accessibility

Royalton Antigua’s long, thin layout means you’ll get plenty of steps in moving from one end of the property to the other. For those with mobility issues, wide, flat paths linking every building and facility were never crowded and provided picturesque views across the beach and lagoon.

Elevators can transport guests between floors of guestrooms though with only two elevators for 300 rooms, there were some delays.

As always, we recommend calling to confirm accessible room types and accessibility features of any hotel or resort before booking and before arrival.

Checking out

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Royalton Antigua and found it a significantly more luxurious experience than the Royalton Punta Cana. The beautiful property and the unique layout cleverly made a 300-room, at-capacity resort never feel busy.

Deep Bay is one of the most beautiful beaches on one of the most beautiful islands I’ve visited. Royalton should be commended for securing this location, which was undoubtedly a tricky design and built due to the shape of the available land.

The terrific staff seemed to genuinely enjoy their jobs, balancing warmth with initiative, and I instantly felt at home. While Diamond Club is an upcharge to what can already be a pricey destination, especially in peak season, the perks are undeniable, and having a Whatsapp service day and night to organize anything for you was really valuable.

Food could be improved with more investment in quality produce and chef training — it was the only real grumble I heard from other guests, but I would recommend Royalton Antigua as one of the better all-inclusive resorts I have stayed in.

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Take a look around an airport, airplane or hotel, and odds are that you’ll see at least a few Apple devices nearby.

From iPhones to iPads to AirTags, the tech giant has developed a portfolio of products that have proven popular with scores of travelers. Perhaps it’s their portable and durable design or the ease with which the devices interact with one another, but the company has worked hard to try to convince road warriors to splurge for its tech.

Apple may already have won the majority of the smartphone, smartwatch and tablet markets. However, Apple’s MacBook laptops haven’t risen to the top of the laptop space — especially among corporate travelers who rely primarily on Windows machines.

But Apple is still working to make a play in that space. Earlier this month, the company unveiled a new MacBook Air that packs a slew of upgrades, all designed to woo users — especially travelers — to upgrade to this laptop.

How is Apple going to do that? TPG secured an exclusive interview with Evan Buyze on Apple’s Mac product marketing team to find out. Buyze walked us through how the company has specifically designed this computer for travelers.

Thin, light and durable design

It starts with the thin, light design that comes in both a 13.6- and 15.3-inch version.

The smaller computer weighs just 2.7 pounds and is only 0.44 inches thick, making it the ideal choice for the traveler who wants to maximize portability, Buyze said. It’s also the more affordable of the two options, starting at $1,099.

Business travelers — as well as those looking for a little more screen real estate for multitasking — will likely prefer the larger 15-inch model. It’s only about a half-pound heavier than the 13-inch version, and it starts at $1,299.

Aside from the size differences, the design of the 13- and 15-inch models is practically identical. The latter just has a more robust speaker system.

Both laptops are no thicker than about a 100-page book; Buzye said Apple worked hard so that the width didn’t come at the expense of durability. The new MacBook Air is built with an all-aluminum unibody enclosure that’s “designed to be super durable.”

Whether it’s unexpected turbulence or an unwieldy galley cart coming down the aisle, Buyze explained that Apple puts the MacBook Air through its special “reliability testing lab.”

“[It] simulates a lot of different customer experiences,” he said. “[In the lab,] they do a lot of different things to be able to make sure that whatever situation you are in, whether it’s in your backpack or you’re carrying it, it meets our standards for reliability.”

During Buyze’s four-year tenure working on the MacBook Air, he’s heard from travelers who have used the computer on airplane tray tables, in Ubers, in hotel rooms and in coffee shops. He and the team have weighed all these instances as use cases when considering durability requirements.

Buyze wouldn’t share more details about whether Apple has mock airplane seats or tray tables in its testing labs; he only said that the company uses “rigorous testing methods” to ensure the computer works in all travel scenarios.

All-day battery life

Despite the increased power demands from an upgraded processor (more on that below), Apple was able to maintain 18 hours of battery life for both models of the MacBook Air.

Of course, when traveling, you often don’t know where you’ll find your next (operational) power outlet. So, the all-day battery should provide plenty of juice even if you’re on a flight without a power outlet.

While I haven’t tested the battery life on the new MacBook Air, I recently took the previous model — which I use as my personal everyday computer — on the world’s longest flight from New York to Singapore. I started the flight at 100% and played a looping movie on the laptop to see when it would die. After nearly 18 hours in the air, I landed and saw the battery level was at 17% — about as good as it gets for a laptop.

Plus, even if you don’t plan to use the full 18-hour battery, the computer also doubles “as a great charger for your iPhone or your iPad,” according to Buyze. With two USB-C ports, you can power two devices simultaneously and still have juice left for the laptop itself; this could be useful when you’re not near a power outlet.

New processor delivers more power

Perhaps the biggest upgrade with the new computer is the introduction of Apple’s proprietary M3 processor chip. While the technical details — an 8-core CPU, up to 10-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine — might be dizzying, Buyze turned them into easy-to-understand comparisons.

“If you’re coming from an M1 MacBook Air, it’s up to 60% faster with MacBook Air with M3. If you’re upgrading from an Intel-based MacBook Air, it’s up to 13 times faster,” he said.

One particular aspect of the new processor that might appeal to travelers is the introduction of more efficient video streaming for services like Netflix. This will allow you to stream for longer, according to Buyze.

While the new chips might pack a mighty punch, they also were the “secret sauce” to making the computer so portable.

“How do we get that thin-and-light design that fits on the tray table?” Buzye asked. He answered by explaining that the “transition to Apple silicon [processor chips] … was really the game changer where we could actually make these new designs that we had only imagined making before.”

Connectivity upgrades

Another big travel-focused improvement Apple is touting with the new MacBook Air is the introduction of upgraded connectivity.

The laptops now support Wi-Fi 6E, which “has twice-as-fast speeds” with “increased wireless spectrum,” according to Buyze. This means that when you’re on a train or in an airport or hotel with a congested network, the new antennas can still connect to the internet without any hiccups.

To take full advantage of Wi-Fi 6E, airlines and hotels must also upgrade their internet routers. Some have already begun this process, and other new planes and hotels come with this pre-installed. 

The MacBook Air also supports Apple’s MagSafe charging port, which magnetically attaches the charging cable to the computer and automatically disconnects when someone trips over it or pulls it out.

This is “perfect for travel when you don’t know the environment, and it just gives you that peace of mind for all different scenarios,” he said.

Finally, to minimize space, many of the most portable laptops on the market compromise on the size and durability of the keyboard. The MacBook Air maintains a full-size keyboard “designed to be really comfortable with a quiet and enjoyable typing experience,” according to Buyze.

Bottom line

A new model of Apple’s best-selling laptop, the MacBook Air, is now in stores.

It comes with a handful of upgrades, many of which were designed specifically for travelers, according to Apple. This includes things like a new processor and improved connectivity, all while maintaining an all-flight battery life in a thin, light and durable design.

The new model builds on the strong foundation set by the previous versions of the MacBook Air. With its travel-friendly features and lack of price increases, it’s safe to say that the MacBook Air is a strong candidate for one of the best travel laptops money can buy.

Why would you fly to Oakland, California, if you’re going to San Francisco?

That might seem counterintuitive to a lot of travelers. But those who are more familiar with the area know that Oakland International Airport (OAK), which sits squarely on the east side of San Francisco Bay, is less than a half-hour drive from downtown San Francisco — not to mention just a few minutes from the city of Oakland.

Want more aviation news? Sign up for TPG’s free biweekly Aviation newsletter.

While it may be dwarfed by San Francisco International Airport (SFO) just across the bay, OAK officials think that part of the reason for that is that inbound travelers simply don’t realize where the airport is or that it presents a potentially more attractive option for people flying to the Bay Area.

That’s why Oakland airport officials said Friday that they are considering changing the airport’s name to “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport” to better reflect the airport’s location as part of an effort to attract more passengers and to prompt airlines to add more routes.

“Market research and interviews with airline partners have shown that routes have not performed as well as they should have due to the lack of geographic awareness, making air carriers reluctant to sustain and add new routes in Oakland,” Port of Oakland interim aviation director Craig Simon said in a statement.

Between July 2008 and March 2024, the airport added 54 new routes, Simon added. Of those, 39 were discontinued, along with six older established routes.

Airlines offer 46 destinations from OAK as of this June, according to data from aviation data firm Cirium. The airport’s largest airline is Southwest Airlines by a significant margin, followed by Alaska Airlines and Spirit Airlines. It also has regular service from Hawaiian Airlines, Mexican carrier Volaris, Allegiant Air and Delta Air Lines.

Bay Area breaks: The best hotels in San Francisco for a golden getaway

Still, Oakland officials said, there’s room for that route map and carrier list to expand, citing geographic awareness as a major hindrance. Market research carried out by the airport authority has found that local travelers are eager for more domestic and international destinations from the airport, while inbound travelers confirmed that they did not realize how close the airport was to San Francisco.

As of this June, SFO will have commercial service to 128 domestic and international airports on more than four dozen airlines, according to Cirium.

While the rebranding would tweak the airport’s name to add “San Francisco Bay,” the airport’s OAK code and branding would not change, officials said.

“Oakland helped put us on the map in California and we’re wholeheartedly supportive of this rebranding that acknowledges OAK’s economic position and influence in the San Francisco Bay area while staying true to its Oakland roots,” Southwest’s senior vice president of marketing Jennifer Bridie said in a statement.

Oakland, meanwhile, is far from the first airport to try and grow its relevance by associating more closely with a broader metropolitan region.

In 2006, the commercial airport in Manchester, New Hampshire, changed its name to “Manchester-Boston Regional Airport” in an effort to improve its visibility and highlight its location about 55 miles from central Boston. Airline passenger traffic at the airport — code MHT — has ebbed and flowed since but has been on a general upward trend since the COVID-19 pandemic.

MHT is currently serviced by American Airlines, Breeze Airways, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Avelo Airlines. Spirit Airlines also operates at the airport, though it plans to suspend its only service in May — the airline said it plans to resume seasonal service next winter.

Other airports have tried name changes for similar reasons.

Florida’s Melbourne International Airport (MLB) was among them. The airport, which sits on Florida’s central Atlantic coast, changed its name in 2015 to “Orlando Melbourne International Airport” to capitalize on the stronger name recognition with the city 70 miles inland that’s home to Walt Disney World and other popular theme parks. Officials at Orlando International Airport (MCO), however, did not like the name change, and — after years of back and forth — MLB eventually agreed to change the order of the cities in its title to go by its current name of Melbourne Orlando International Airport.

Other U.S. airports adopting the name of distant, more recognizable city names include Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) — about 85 miles from Chicago’s Loop — and New York Stewart International Airport (SWF), located about 70 miles from midtown Manhattan near the city of Newburgh, New York.

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You can now take a sleeper train directly from Belgium right through to the Czech Republic with European Sleeper’s latest route expansion.

We’ve written at length here at TPG about the great train revival, particularly the game-changing routes of European Sleeper, which is opening up rail connectivity across the continent. 

The rail operator first launched its Brussels-Amsterdam-Berlin night train service in May 2023, and as of Monday extended its service from Berlin to Dresden and Bad Schandau in Germany before traveling to the Czech Republic capital of Prague. 

Related: 28 best European routes where you should take a train instead of a plane

The additional stops mean that you can now board the European Sleeper in Belgium and wake up the following morning in the Czech Republic. The full length of the service will connect four European capitals: Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin and Prague. 

The newly extended route will initially run three times weekly, departing at 7:22 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and arriving in Prague the following day at 10:56 a.m.

Several major rail operators — including Eurostar and Nightjet — now offer long-distance connectivity throughout Europe. However, European Sleeper stands out as one of the fastest growing, and many more routes could be added in the coming years, including connections between Amsterdam, Brussels and Barcelona slated for 2025 and 2026. 

Related: Eurostar review: What’s the difference between Business Premier, Standard Premier and Standard class?

“We are truly thrilled to be launching the new route to Prague less than a year after launching our first direct service from Brussels to Berlin,” Elmer van Buuren, co-founder of European Sleeper, said in a written statement from the company. “Our goal is to add a new route each year so we can continue to contribute to a more integrated and sustainable European transportation network.” 

Bottom line

We’ve said it many times before: Train travel in Europe is booming right now. If you’re considering ditching the skies for a greener and more relaxed way of travel, you’re quickly becoming spoiled for choice on the continent. 

European Sleeper’s latest route expansion will take you between Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin and Prague, making it an excellent option for those wishing to see four great European capitals by rail. 

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• 13 must-have items the TPG team can’t travel without

Business travel is on the rise. Companies still see it as essential and are willing to spend on in-person collaboration. This report unpacks the findings from our business travel statistics research.

There’s a new airport option for U.S. travelers hoping to make the trek to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula — one that doesn’t involve the packed terminals and dense crowds of Cancun.

On Thursday, Tulum’s brand new Felipe Carrillo International Airport (TQO) welcomed the first flights from U.S. airlines. It was an occasion marked by music, dancing and decor on both sides of the border.

Situated nearly 100 miles from the busy Cancun International Airport (CUN), every bit of the Tulum airport is actually new — from the runway to the building and even the access road that leads to the terminal.

Want more airline-specific news? Sign up for TPG’s free biweekly Aviation newsletter.

One of several infrastructure mega projects touted by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, construction on the airport began in earnest in 2022 following years of discussion.

The airport technically opened in December, but that was just for domestic flights operating within Mexico.

The broader grand opening came on Thursday, starting when American Airlines Flight 1131 arrived from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), receiving a water cannon salute upon arrival. 

For any airline, flying to a new city is a big deal. That’s even truer when it’s a new airport altogether, American’s senior vice president of DFW hub operations Jim Moses told TPG in a pre-flight interview.

“Our teams have been working really hard — both with the Mexican authorities, with Tulum International Airport — on all the prep work that goes into making all this happen,” Moses said.

“All the logistics that go into it, the support for the flights that go in and out of there,” Moses explained, “[It’s] just a lot of work to start a new city … a new airport.”

On top of inaugurating twice-daily Tulum service from DFW Thursday, American also launched new nonstop routes to the new airport from its hubs at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) and Miami International Airport (MIA).

American went all out in Tulum, too, with its check-in counters decked out in balloons and signage.

There also was a party-like atmosphere at American’s departing gate at Tulum, which hosted a news conference celebrating the launch of flights to the U.S. along with food, beverages and lots of balloons.

And American wasn’t alone.

Delta Air Lines’ first flight from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) also touched down at the new airport Thursday.

Delta had its own celebrations at the check-in counters with balloons, cupcakes and even souvenir Delta Air Lines playing cards available for passengers.

TPG’s Clint Henderson was on the inaugural Delta flight from Tulum Thursday afternoon. Delta Air Lines Flight 1772 left from the shiny new D3 gate. There wasn’t nearly the celebration that American Airlines was having next door, but flight attendants and Delta airport employees were buzzing with excitement. Passengers on Delta’s inaugural departure were treated to free margaritas, a flight attendant in the gate area told TPG.

United Airlines will launch its own inaugural Tulum service on Sunday from Newark Liberty International Airport (IAH) and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH).

And the growth will continue from there.

United plans to add nonstops from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) later this spring.

JetBlue is also venturing into Tulum, with plans to launch service later this spring from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).

Beyond routes to the U.S. and domestic Mexican routes, Air Canada will offer nonstops to Montreal and Toronto, and Copa plans to fly from Tulum to Panama City.

Spirit Airlines hoped to launch service to Tulum, but had to postpone those plans amid fleet constraints.

Altogether, airlines plan to offer some 170,000 seats out of Tulum by July, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium — quite the jump from the mere 45,000 or so flown by Mexican carriers last month.

How Tulum airport compares to Cancun

Eventually, Tulum’s new airport has the capacity to handle about 4 million passengers annually, according to the airport’s website.

Even with its fast growth at the beginning of operations, don’t expect the experience at the new airport to be anything like Cancun.

The elder Yucatan hub is far bigger and busier, with four terminals, dozens of gates airlines arriving from around the world.

Just last year, in fact, Cancun saw nearly 4.8 million travelers from the U.S. alone pass through its customs facilities, according to a recent report from Mexico’s tourism minister.

Tulum figures to be far less crowded, with its single terminal and 13 gates.

For travelers hoping to avoid the throngs of other passengers, that’s likely a good thing, said Wisconsin-based travel advisor Rose Gray, of Fox World Travel — whose clients have increasingly bemoaned the crowds in Cancun.

“It just seems like on a daily basis we’re hearing people say, ‘I waited two hours for my luggage,’ or, ‘The lines to check in were unbelievably long,’ or all those kinds of complaints,” Gray said. “I think this is hopefully going to lighten that load a bit.”

On top of a far shorter wait for checked luggage, the airport itself is more modern, with natural light pouring into the ticketing area through a translucent roof, and more technically advanced identify verification stations at check-in and security.

On the concourse, travelers will find floor-to-ceiling windows offering panoramic views of the jetway, and modern sculpted ceilings that give a small taste of Mayan aesthetic.

The airport is also a far more convenient option for travelers hoping to visit Tulum itself and other nearby parts of the Riviera Maya. After all, visiting Tulum and surrounding area, historically, has required a flight to Cancun and then a lengthy ride by car or shuttle.

“I look at it as that niche market, but it is a market that, we’ve had customers talk to us about wanting to fly right into Tulum,” Moses told TPG. “So I think this is going to fit into our portfolio in Mexico incredibly nicely.”

Growing pains likely

Still. that’s not to say the airport won’t have its own growing pains.

For starters, the airport is not actually in Tulum. It’s 20-plus miles from town, and a good 40-minute ride from many of the region’s top beach resorts.

Parts of the airport remain under construction, too — most notably concessions, with few food options for passengers beyond a bag of chips — though signs clearly show more choices are on the way.

Inside the terminal, there were signs for future restaurants you’ll know like Burger King and Applebee’s — plus local establishments, too. For now, though, there are just three small shops selling snacks.

There is space for a lounge, but none are currently ready.

Finally, there are two children’s playgrounds post security, which should help those traveling with little ones.

The Wi-Fi wasn’t working at the airport and airport employees weren’t sure how long it would take to get set up, but said it was coming — eventually.

The air conditioning seemingly wasn’t ready for launch of U.S. flights, either. The airport had set up large mobile air conditioners, but it was quite hot in the terminal. A gate agent said he hoped it would be fixed shortly.

Also still under construction: the airport’s Tren Maya station — a stop on Mexico’s massive new rail line that will encircle much of the Yucatan Peninsula — once it’s fully open, at least. That’s expected later this year.

In the meantime, local hotel leaders have raised concerns in recent months about “uncompetitive” pricing for existing ground transportation options. Some local reports have suggested confusing ground transportation options  — or pricing that seems above normal for the region, with few alternate options.

Still, the airport figures to offer travelers a convenient new way to explore this region of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula — especially as airlines add more flights and the airport’s operations get fully on track in the months ahead.

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If you’ve ever dreamed of traveling to New Zealand, with its spectacular landscapes, stunning national parks and natural wonders like Milford Sound, there is excellent award availability using Star Alliance miles in April. Best of all, you can travel nonstop in business class from the West Coast.

Air New Zealand is currently showing generous nonstop availability from both Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Auckland Airport (AKL) on many dates in April.

Related: I flew 14 hours on a ‘couch’ — here’s whether Air New Zealand’s Skycouch was worth it

You can easily view the availability by month on the United Airlines MileagePlus website, where you can book one-way flights for 110,000 miles plus $43.30 in fees and taxes each way.

There are also limited seats on the nonstop service from Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in April and May.

An even better deal is booking the same flights with Air Canada Aeroplan points, where you will be charged just 75,000 points each way in business class. Keep in mind, though, that there’s a slightly higher charge of $95 for fees and taxes.

There is some availability for return flights to the U.S. in April at the same price, though your options are far more plentiful when traveling to the Land of the Long White Cloud.

It’s worth noting that Air New Zealand offers lie-flat seats with direct aisle access and a decent soft product, but the seats lack privacy and storage. The airline will introduce an all-new and much-improved business-class seat in 2024, though this will not be in place for these April dates.

Related: Aboard Air New Zealand’s inaugural flight from NYC to Auckland, the world’s fourth-longest

How to earn Star Alliance miles

This offer once again illustrates the value of earning transferable points. If you only collect United miles, you would need to pay 110,000 miles each way for these flights. However, if you have transferable points, you could choose to transfer them to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio from the following programs:

• American Express Membership Rewards
• Bilt Rewards
• Capital One miles
• Chase Ultimate Rewards

The following cards all currently offer strong welcome bonuses with points and miles that you can transfer to your Aeroplan account:

• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
• The Platinum Card® from American Express
• American Express® Gold Card
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Related: Credit card transfer partners: Guide to transferring points and miles to airlines and hotels

Bottom line

Finding a 13-hour nonstop business-class flight in a lie-flat seat for just 75,000 credit card points plus minimal fees and taxes is an excellent deal. If you have ever considered visiting the spectacular country of New Zealand, consider jumping on this award availability.

While Air New Zealand does not have the most cutting-edge business-class seats, for this price, you can sleep all the way to the South Pacific.

After almost 20 years in court, the two largest credit card issuers have reached an agreement with retailers and merchants to lower interchange fees.

Interchange — or “swipe” — fees are the charges that the retailer pays when you, as a consumer, use your credit card to make a purchase. They average 2% of the cost of a transaction but can reach 4% for premium credit cards.

That revenue gets passed along to the bank, which puts it toward rewards it offers cardholders — including cash back, points and miles — as well as to underwrite shopping perks like purchase protection and return protection.

The fee is built into the cost of most goods and services and helps to cover credit card benefits and even the points that we value so much here at The Points Guy.

With this new agreement, retailers are expected to save billions of dollars in interchange fees over the next five years. Visa and Mastercard will lower their rates by 0.04 percentage points for three years and an average of 0.07% over the next five years. However, this agreement is subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

The settlement occurred amid pressure from some senators to introduce industry-wide legislation in the form of the Credit Card Competition Act, which may no longer be needed if this agreement holds. The proposed legislation could have far-reaching, potentially negative consequences for consumers and travelers, especially those who like to earn rewards with their credit card spending.

The Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC), which is a group representing credit unions, community banks, payment card networks and other banking institutions involved in the electronic payment process, issued a statement applauding the settlement, suggesting it further erodes the case for new legislation.

“The agreement between merchants, Visa, Mastercard and financial institutions has been decades in the making and treats businesses of all sizes equally without government mandates or jeopardizing consumers’ data security and rewards programs,” said EPC Executive Chairman Richard Hunt.

“The Durbin-Marshall bill has had no debate, no legitimate hearing and continues to be unnecessary,” he continued.

That said, Senator Dick Durbin’s office released a statement after news of the settlement came to light, vowing to press on in pursuit of passing the Credit Card Competition Act. “Today’s news solidifies that it is time to pass my bipartisan, bicameral legislation—the Credit Card Competition Act—to enhance competition between credit card networks and ultimately lower costs for small businesses and consumers,” the senator’s statement read. “We need to bring real competition to the credit card industry.  My bill ensures that the Visa-Mastercard duopoly ends their price gouging tactics that disproportionately hurt American families and small businesses.” Only time will tell whether his colleagues will line up behind him to consider the legislation, though, given the evolving situation that Visa and Mastercard’s agreement with retailers has created.

This news also comes on the heels of the announcement of Capital One and Discover merging, which would strengthen their position as a third major player in the industry, increase competition and potentially further negate the need for legislation from Washington, D.C.

There are some nuances to this that may need to play out, such as whether the agreement could open the door to merchants applying a different surcharge depending on which type of card a consumer uses for a purchase.

However, overall, this agreement is being viewed by some, including TPG’s founder, Brian Kelly, as a step in the right direction. The settlement should reduce costs for small businesses while continuing to provide value in the form of rewards and protections to consumers.

We’ll keep you posted on the outcome of the agreement and the impacts on credit card consumers as it evolves. In the meantime, you can watch the video below for thoughts from TPG’s Brian Kelly on today’s agreement.

 

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A post shared by Brian Kelly (@briankelly)

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Spirit Airlines is moving forward again after several years of “inertia” following the coronavirus pandemic and the carrier’s failed merger attempt with JetBlue, chief commercial officer Matt Klein said.

Top of the list for the Florida-based carrier is returning to the black after accumulating more than $2 billion in net losses since 2020. A big part of that turnaround is reworking Spirit’s route map in order to boost revenue and cut unnecessary expenses.

That means you can expect more connecting flights in places like Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) and less flying to the competitive — and increasingly delay-prone — Florida market beginning this summer, Klein said on the sidelines of the Routes Americas conference March 20.

Want more airline-specific news? Sign up for TPG’s free biweekly Aviation newsletter.

“We had a lot of curveballs thrown our way in the last couple of years,” he said. “We were stuck in neutral for a while for a variety of reasons. … You can’t stand still, you’ve got to move forward.”

The pandemic. A failed merger. Issues with Pratt & Whitney engines that have grounded 15 airplanes and counting. The list of challenges Spirit, once one of the most profitable airlines in the U.S., has faced is long.

Not to mention, the carrier has $1.3 billion in debt due next year. That’s significantly more than the $863 million in cash that it had on hand at the end of December.

The airline is still growing, but its schedule will be flat to grow in the “mid-single digits,” or around 5%, this year. That compares to 15% year-over-year growth in 2023.

Spirit focuses on adding flight connections

“We’re going to start looking at doing some more intentional connectivity in some cities,” Klein said. “The reason for that is being able to try some new routes out, or bring back some routes we’ve done in the past. If [the routes] have proper connectivity, that allows for more revenue generation.”

Fort Lauderdale, a large gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America for Spirit, and Las Vegas are cities where it could expand flight connections, Klein said. Other unnamed cities could also see more connectivity, though he declined to name any additional markets.

Spirit plans to unveil an updated summer schedule that includes more flight connections in the next few weeks, Klein said.

Some routes Spirit previously flew from Fort Lauderdale but does not today include Asheville, North Carolina; Bucaramanga, Colombia; Jacksonville, Florida; Lima, Peru; and Panama City, according to Cirium Diio schedules.

“We’re seeing some changes in Fort Lauderdale now — we’re seeing some capacity get removed by a couple of competitors,” Klein said of the market at the airport.

JetBlue, which competes with Spirit in Fort Lauderdale, recently said it would end flights to Lima; Bogota, Colombia; and Quito, Ecuador, in June as part of a larger network shift. And in October, Southwest Airlines announced that it would move many of its Caribbean and Latin American routes from FLL to Orlando International Airport (MCO) to boost connectivity.

Fewer Florida flights at Spirit

Even as Klein spoke of more “intentional connectivity” in Fort Lauderdale, he also said Spirit plans to trim flying to Florida this summer. And by Florida, his comments were understood to mean primarily in Orlando, which Spirit executives have previously said would see cuts.

Spirit’s reductions in the Sunshine State will include both seasonal cuts — there is less demand for seeing the state’s sights and visiting its beaches during the hot, humid summer — as well as ones in response to air traffic control restrictions and elevated levels of airline competition.

“We’re going to have to start moving some things around,” Klein said. “Part of it is operationally driven, and part of it is also commercially driven where we think there may be better opportunities to match up supply and demand.”

Staffing shortages at the Federal Aviation Administration’s Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center have been an issue for several years. The center manages almost all flights into and out of Florida. But despite the FAA engaging with airlines to reduce flight disruptions, Klein and other airline executives say issues persist.

John Pepper, vice president of corporate development and government affairs at Allegiant Air, also highlighted air traffic control disruptions into and out of Florida at Routes Americas.

Flight delays and cancellations add costs for airlines, from accommodating travelers to repositioning planes and crews. Expenses are something Spirit aims to cut as it focuses on returning to profitability.

Competition to and from Florida is also intense, and airline yields — airfares to travelers — have fallen in many markets. The average airfare in Orlando fell 16% on 15% more seats in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the year before, the latest Bureau of Transportation Statistics data via Cirium Diio shows. Spirit saw average fares — not including ancillary fees — drop 27% in the same period.

“There was way too much capacity in that market,” Brett Snyder, author of the blog Cranky Flier, wrote in February. “Orlando has finally hit a wall.”

Klein declined to say where Spirit plans to put the capacity it removes from Florida, again pointing to the imminent summer schedule update.

“At Spirit, we’re going to have a lot of great things, a lot of exciting stuff coming soon,” he said.

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Southwest Airlines is preparing to launch a travel option common throughout the airline industry —  but one not in place at the Dallas-based carrier.

In the coming years, Southwest says it will begin offering red-eye flights from some of its most popular cities.

It will mark the first time the airline has offered the overnight itineraries, which see passengers depart at night in one time zone and wake up (assuming they slept at all) the next morning in another.

The aptly named itineraries are commonplace throughout the industry. In the U.S., scores of flights take off from the West Coast each night en route to the East Coast. The same is true for flights headed to Europe.

But Southwest doesn’t currently offer any red-eyes — and hasn’t regularly flown them historically, either.

Want more airline-specific news? Sign up for TPG’s free biweekly Aviation newsletter.

In the past, technology limitations with the carrier’s booking channels prevented the airline from offering red-eye bookings. After the airline migrated to a new system several years ago, that technological barrier was no longer an obstacle.

From that point, it was, seemingly, only a matter of time before the airline began the move to offer red-eyes, as CEO Bob Jordan hinted during an aviation conference last fall.

“At some point Southwest Airlines will be doing red-eyes. Absolutely,” Jordan confirmed during remarks at the Skift Aviation Conference in November.

When will Southwest red-eye flights begin?

It’s still not entirely clear when Southwest’s first red-eye flights might take off. The airline still must complete “a wide range of work,” a company spokesperson told TPG on Monday, noting the process could take “a few years.”

Future red-eye routes would likely depart from prime leisure markets “where they would make sense for our customers, and in places where Southwest has a large presence,” the spokesperson said, specifically noting Hawaii and Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas.

A quick look at Southwest’s route map shows the obvious opportunities. For instance, it flies to more than a half-dozen continental U.S. airports from Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) in Honolulu alone.

The airport’s online departures board for Monday shows a wide range of late-night departures to the U.S. mainland for American Airlines.

It’s a similar story for United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Hawaiian Airlines.

But you can see that Southwest’s departures from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland end, on this day, at 3:15 p.m.

The airline envisions up to 50 nightly red-eye flights in the future, TPG contributor Edward Russell was first to report in The Washington Post last week, citing comments by a Southwest executive at the 2024 Routes Americas Conference in Colombia.

Why is Southwest adding red-eye flights?

As for why Southwest is interested in adding red-eye flights to its daily schedule, economics are a big factor.

Red-eye flights help airlines keep their jets in use even during the overnight hours. After all, aircraft don’t make money when they sit still.

“A way to continue to develop your revenue production is to fly our aircraft and utilize them more,” Jordan said at the November conference. “You’re basically producing [capacity] without expending more capital.”

And the need for Southwest to maximize its existing fleet is critical amid 737 MAX delivery delays at Boeing, which saw the carrier move down its 2024 delivery forecast in recent weeks.

Bottom line

Your next trip with Southwest likely won’t feature a red-eye flight, with overnight itineraries likely at least a couple of years away, still. But the carrier has made clear it will add these sleep-depriving flights to its future plans, offering a travel option employed by its competitors for decades.

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