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. JetBlue Airways has a transcontinental premium product customers like, and one it has proven it can deliver at a low cost, and with reasonable fares.

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. Would you buy a ticket for summer travel on Norwegian Air? It’s a question I’m struggling with as I plan the great Sumers European family vacation of 2019.

After teasing customers about flying to Europe for several years, JetBlue Airways will finally make a decision this year, when it will inform Airbus whether it wants a long-range version of the A321 aircraft it already flies. JetBlue has loyalists in New York and New England who desperately want it to expand to Europe. They suspect JetBlue would disrupt the market as it has the United States with its premium transcontinental flights.

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. >>Herb Kelleher changed how airlines all over the world operate by building a behemoth low-cost carrier. He will be missed:S​outhwest Co-Founder Herb Kelleher Dies, Leaving a Legacy That Changed Airlines Forever >>Southwest has been stingy with the details here.

Herb Kelleher, the Southwest Airlines co-founder and former CEO who sketched the idea for what would become the world’s most influential low-cost-carrier on a napkin in a San Antonio restaurant more than 50 years ago, has died. He was 87. “Today, we’ve lost our beloved friend Herb,” Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said Thursday in a video message. “Herb loved people. He loved life, and without a doubt he loved Southwest Airlines.

Welcome back to all our loyal Skift readers! From my team to yours, we hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season. We’re excited to be back together in our office, so figured this is the perfect time to announcediscounted rates are now available for groups to attend Skift Forum Europe! Skift Forum Europe 2019 will be on April 30th in London.

Skift staffers are an ambitious bunch, especially when it comes to travel. That’s only fitting for a company that seeks to define the future of travel; we have to know what we’re talking about.

Every industry has its share of buzzwords and concepts deployed to seem cool, buzzy, and on the cutting-edge. Travel is no stranger to turning to well-worn buzzwords as competitors jockey to capitalize on new iterations of the same old trends. As we’ve remarked before, so many terms are generally awful and create a corporate-speak that actually provides a disservice to companies trying to stand out.

Everyone likes a new year’s forecast, but many experts play it safe by merely highlighting well-known trends. It seemed like every year after 2007 was called the “year of mobile,” for instance. Forecasters should be a bit more imaginative. After all, surprises happen. No one predicted that in 2018 lodging startup Oyo would raise a $1 billion funding round, Wynn Resorts would kick out its CEO Steve Wynn, and jet fuel prices would spike and then crash over a mere six months.

European travel giant TUI Group wants to play an even bigger role in the growing tours and activities market after completing two big acquisitions in 2018 and seeing turnover in the sector increase 50 percent. The company, which already had a presence in the market bought Hotelbeds’ destination services division in March and online platform Musement in September, both of which will help aid its expansion.