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This week:
- Malaysia’s Transport Minister wants to ensure the “survival” of local airlines as fuel costs rise
- Wallpaper* on the new gates at Taiwan’s Taoyuan Airport
- A list of places that’s worth your time
- American re-announces its new Admirals Club in Austin, which now has an outdoor terrace
- BA cancels its flights to Abu Dhabi until “later this year”
- Toronto’s smaller airport gets a pre-clearance facility
- More IndiGo codeshare routes with BA and Qantas
March 15, 2026
Malaysia’s Transport Minister wants to ensure the “survival” of local airlines as fuel costs rise
Bloomberg, Thursday:
Malaysia said airlines may need to suspend some flights if the Middle East war pushes fuel costs significantly higher.
Jet fuel accounts for almost half of airlines’ operating costs, Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke said on Facebook late Thursday.
…The transport ministry “will discuss with airports and relevant stakeholders to support the survival of local airlines,” he said.
…“All parties also agreed to meet weekly as this crisis remains volatile and requires rapid action in the event of new developments,” he added.”
March 13, 2026
Wallpaper* on the new gates at Taiwan’s Taoyuan Airport
Tianna Williams, writing for Wallpaper*:
The eight new gates (which extend from D10 to D18) are generous in width and offer long, clear sightlines to allow for smooth, pleasant and efficient travel.
…The colour palette is a mix of yellow, orange and burgundy, and you progress from one hue to another as you move along the concourse, allowing for easy gate identification. The silver façade, designed to control glare and heat, allows natural light to shine through the double-height space, offering views across the airfield.
The building’s structure helps form a variety of internal volumes through the use of different ceiling heights. This creates a wave-like visual effect when travelling through its spaces. The bespoke halo light fittings animate the ceilings. The final touch is the 300m length of public artworks, nodding to Taiwanese culture.
Taipei is a hub for China Airlines, EVA, and Starlux; it’s also a focus city for Cathay.
March 13, 2026
A list of places that’s worth your time
TIME’s World’s Greatest Places is a cut above the many, many lists you run into on travel websites: the team behind it likes the interesting as much as the luxurious, makes unexpected choices, and gives you just enough information about each to want more. They’re also not in the affiliate link business.
The list goes well beyond sub-$1,000 hotels (Brisbane’s Bluey’s World gets a mention), but I saved these:
- Populus, Denver
- Banyan Tree Veya, Valle de Guadalupe
- Corendon, Amsterdam (airport hotel!)
- Hôtel Swexan, Dallas
- QT, Singapore
- The Radical, Asheville
- The Viewpoint, York, Maine
March 10, 2026
American re-announces its new Admirals Club in Austin, which now has an outdoor terrace
American Airlines, today:
American Airlines is continuing its investment in premium customer experiences and the Austin, Texas, community with plans to open a new, expanded Admirals Club lounge at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS).
The new lounge will span more than 12,000 square feet on the west side of the terminal, doubling its current footprint at AUS, and introduce a first for American’s lounge network: an outdoor terrace space. Guests will enjoy expansive views of downtown Austin and the airfield, creating a uniquely local and elevated atmosphere for customers.
Construction starts this year.
This has been in the works for a while: AA first announced an expansion in 2021, shelved those plans, then Austin’s airport revealed the new lounge footprint while announcing its own expansion plan in 2024.
New, this time, is the outdoor terrace:
The outdoor terrace will be a standout feature, marking the first time American has introduced open-air lounge space in its network. It’s part of a broader effort to reimagine the Admirals Club®experience with locally inspired touches and enhanced service.
Star Alliance and SkyTeam alliance travelers know and love the outdoor decks; they look great at Star Alliance’s LAX lounge and Delta’s T4 lounge at JFK (when we’re not in the middle of a snowstorm).
Qantas is also building its first outdoor lounge area this year.
March 10, 2026
BA cancels its flights to Abu Dhabi until “later this year”
British Airways, today:
Due to the continuing uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East and airspace instability, we’ve had to temporarily reduce our flying schedule in the region. We’ve cancelled all flights to and from Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv until later this month and to and from Abu Dhabi until later this year.
Not the kind of decision you’d make about a “little excursion.”
March 9, 2026
Toronto’s smaller airport gets a pre-clearance facility
Speaking of possible oneworld members, good news for travelers in Toronto, where Porter operates a hub. Ethan Lang, reporting for CBC:
Starting Tuesday, travellers flying to the U.S. from downtown Toronto will be able to go through customs before departing Billy Bishop airport.
That’s due to the opening of a new pre-clearance facility at the island airport, which politicians and officials announced at a news conference Monday. Canada’s Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon told reporters the addition would make travel “faster, more convenient and more reliable.”
…The new facility is opening as Porter Airlines and Air Canada expand the number of U.S. routes from Billy Bishop, said Roelof-Jan Steenstra, CEO of Toronto Port Authority, the airport’s owner. The authority has been trying to add pre-clearance at the airport for over a decade, he said.
Billy Bishop is the smaller, regional airport for Toronto (if you’re flying internationally, you’ll be more familiar with Pearson). The pre-clearance facility mostly benefits Porter, which operates flights to Boston, Chicago, Nashville, New York, and DC from here.
March 9, 2026
More IndiGo codeshare routes with BA and Qantas
Aeroroutes has the details. 22 new domestic routes with BA including multiple Delhi and Mumbai routes. Three with Qantas; all from Singapore. The airline has codeshares with several oneworld and SkyTeam members, and oneworld’s former CEO implied it was a top target for membership late last year.