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This week:
- Wallpaper: The most anticipated hotel openings of 2026
- TIL: Cathay’s in-flight entertainment system tells you which bathrooms are in use
- No more liquid carry-on restrictions at Heathrow
- Pittsburgh’s new terminal was inspired by the Allegheny Mountains
- American takes last place in the WSJ’s airline rankings
January 25, 2026
Wallpaper: The most anticipated hotel openings of 2026
Nicola Leigh Stewart’s list for Wallpaper includes:
- USA:
- Delano Miami Beach
- Public West Hollywood
- UK:
- Six Senses London
- Waldorf Astoria Admiralty Arch
- Japan:
- Hoshinoya Nara Prison
January 24, 2026
TIL: Cathay’s in-flight entertainment system tells you which bathrooms are in use
Just tap on the bathroom symbol in the top right corner and you’ll see a map showing your seat and the bathrooms that are available or occupied. Works great, just like the rest of Cathay’s gorgeous new system.
January 23, 2026
No more liquid carry-on restrictions at Heathrow
Katy Austin, for the BBC:
Passengers at Britain’s biggest airport, Heathrow, can leave liquids in containers up to two litres in their bags while going through security, after it finally completed the rollout of new high-tech CT scanners. Electronics such as laptops can also be left in luggage, while clear plastic bags for liquids no longer have to be used. Heathrow now says it is the biggest airport in the world to have the new equipment fully rolled out across all its terminals.
Hooray for the HI-SCAN 6040 CTiX.
January 22, 2026
Pittsburgh’s new terminal was inspired by the Allegheny Mountains
Ben Dreith in Dezeen:
American studios Gensler and HDR, with Spanish studio Luis Vidal + Architects, referenced the hills and foliage of Western Pennsylvania when creating a terminal building for Pittsburgh’s international airport.
…The new structure, which the studios collaborated on, is three storeys high and placed in one of the voids between the terminal’s arms. It is capped by a metal roof that is raised in parts, creating clerestory windows.
Luis Vidal + Architects studio founder Luis Vidal said that he moved to Pittsburgh for an extended stay during the project and was taken with the rolling hills of the Allegheny Mountains and the region’s foliage.
The hills found their way into design in those rolling rooftop forms, while the foliage was expressed in the heterogeneous structural steel columns that support the massive overhang of the roof as it cantilevers over the entry programme.
The terminal opened last November, and locals love it.
January 22, 2026
American takes last place in the WSJ’s airline rankings
Dawn Gilbertson and Allison Pohle, in the Wall Street Journal:
American rarely shines in our rankings, but 2025 was particularly ugly. Its cancellation rate went from 1.37% in 2024 to the chart-topping 2.2%. The highest it ranked in any category was sixth out of the nine airlines, for extreme delays.
Overall, American tied with budget carrier Frontier for ninth, or last place. Delta came in third and United sixth.
In the Journal’s category rankings, American scored:
- 7th for on-time arrivals
- 9th (last) for canceled flights
- 6th for extreme delays
- 7th for 2-hour tarmac delays
- 8th for mishandled baggage
- 8th for involuntary bumping
Alaska fared better. Fourth overall, and best-in-class for extreme delays.