Last month I was thrilled to be invited to Qantas’ North American headquarters, where I met with Ashley Howell, executive vice president, and Anie Hong, North American marketing director. Not only was it interesting to discuss happenings at Qantas, but also the conference room overlooks the hangar where a beautiful Airbus A380 sat below for maintenance. What could make nerdy aviation geeks like me happier?

© Francis X. Gallagher

Later that month I was invited to meet with my friends at Delta Air Lines on its Delta Business Traveler product. Benjamin van der Horst, general manager, Loyalty Partnerships and Small Business Strategy, and Alvaro Megias, senior manager, Loyalty Partnerships, met with me and Carrie Cox, our senior account executive, at the Porsche Experience in Atlanta for lunch at Restaurant 356. While dining, we enjoyed identifying airplane tails as they landed at ATL, including many Delta and Turkish Airlines aircraft.

I followed up with a meeting at United Airlines headquarters in Chicago’s Willis Tower (the third-tallest building in the Western Hemisphere) to review news regarding MileagePlus and Kinective Media by United, along with the goal to have every United destination supported by Hemispheres’ iconic “Three Perfect Days” travel guide articles.

United’s fleet-wide upgrade to Starlink will prove a game-changer for MileagePlus membership per a discussion with Luc Bondar, COO and president, United MileagePlus. We had a great time discussing opportunities and improvements at United with Emily Fyhrie, director, Loyalty Brand Marketing, and Lilly Feehan, associate analyst, Marketing & Loyalty. We covered MileagePlus’ award wins with the Global Traveler readership and our interview with Richard Nunn, CEO, United MileagePlus (please see page 19).

This past month we also conducted interviews with TAP Air Portugal’s Carlos Antunes, director of the Americas (also in this issue, page 22). Carlos and his team, including Fernanda Ottavio, manager, North America, spearheaded the growth of TAP in North America, currently with 11 gateways, eight of them in the United States. Carlos, Fern and I conducted a more detailed discussion, which you can view on Global Traveler’s YouTube channel this month. Many of you will receive an email with a direct link to this video.

This week I head to New York to meet with Mohammad Maragha, area manager, USA, Royal Jordanian Airlines, to discuss the carrier’s business-class product and attend the monthly Wings Club luncheon held at the Yale Club, featuring Nathaniel Pieper, CEO, oneworld. The alliance is undergoing a rebranding, to be announced in the spring of 2026.

I top off the week with a visit with Alp Ozaman, regional marketing manager, Turkish Airlines, to discuss the airline’s growth in North America and success using İstanbul (iGA) as a hub for global traffic. And this month I will fly British Airways’ business class, escaping for my annual birthday trip.

Wherever you are traveling, join me in discovering more in the world of aviation that connects us all.

Francis X. Gallagher, publisher and CEO