Do you like comfortable aircraft, friendly service and new prices? You’ll likely have a new option in the United States as soon as three years from now. Airbus on Tuesday confirmed what might have been the worst-kept secret in the U.S. airline industry. JetBlue Airways founder David Neeleman, who was pushed out as CEO of his own company in 2007 after mishandling the carrier’s operation, is starting a new U.S.

Throughout the week we post dozens of original stories, connecting the dots across the travel industry, and every weekend we sum it all up. This weekend roundup examines aviation. For all of our weekend roundups,go here. >>Norwegian Air reported earnings Thursday, and a lot of analysts expected it to feel like a funeral. But something funny happened. The airline reported a profit.

This is the sixth year we are hosting Skift Forums; can you believe it? We’ve grown immensely in size and scope over the past few years, and in 2019 we’re continuing to expand our conferences across the globe. In planning this expansion, we’ve taken time to reflect on the goals and mission of our events.Today we’re excited to announce a brand new look for the future Skift Forums! Skift Forums are about sharing ideas and connecting with people in a space we created.

Norwegian Air CEO Bjorn Kjos said Thursday he would prefer not to sell the company he built from nothing into a low-cost global behemoth, but said he will let investors decide its future. His remarks came after Norwegian announced a second quarter profit that surprised analysts, many of whom had soured on Europe’s third-largest discounter.

The Skift Airline Innovation Report is our weekly newsletter on the business of airline innovation. We look closely at the technological, financial, and design trends at airlines and airports. Brian Sumers writes and curates the newsletter, and we send it on Wednesdays. You can find previous issues of the newsletter here. When an entrepreneur plans to start a new U.S. airline, insiders usually laugh. Even the most successful investors often struggle with airlines, where barriers to entry remain high.

Readers of The Oral History of Travel’s Greatest Acquisition Booking.com will likely draw their own lessons from the two startups, Active Hotels and Bookings B.V., and these game-changing serial acquisitions. But here are six takeaways that we pulled out: The founders and co-founders of Active Hotels and Bookings.nl were technology-focused outsiders to the hotel industry, which helped.

If the restroom on your next flight seems a bit snug, don’t assume you’ve picked up a few pounds. U.S. airlines increasingly are putting smaller lavatories on their planes — and the economics of the decision means they’re probably here to stay. As labor costs rise and fuel prices surge, airlines are taking advantage of robust travel demand to squeeze as many passengers as possible into planes.

I know I talk a lot about Skift’s flagship event, Skift Global Forum, and how amazing it is. I’ve been very fortunate to oversee the growth and evolution of this event over the past five years. This year is on track to be nothing less than extraordinary and I can’t wait for you to see what is in store. This year the conference will return to Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall, just steps from lively Columbus Circle and beautiful Central Park.

Each week we round up travel startups that have recently received or announced funding. Please email Travel Tech Editor Sean O'Neill [email protected] if you have funding news. The total funding publicized this week was more than $150 million. We reported last week that TourRadar, an online agency for multi-day activities, such as river cruises and safaris, had received $50 million in a Series C funding round. Since then, investors have continued to plow money into travel startups.

Each week we round up travel startups that have recently received or announced funding. Please email Travel Tech Editor Sean O'Neill [email protected] if you have funding news. The total funding publicized this week was more than $70 million. >>TourRadar, an online agency for multi-day activities, such as river cruises and safaris, has received $50 million in a Series C funding round. TCV (Technology Crossover Ventures) led the round.