ABQ Sunport adds two new nonstop flights during Balloon Fiesta
Story continues below
Crime: Albuquerque business owner faces murder charge for shooting fleeing shoplifter
News: Las Vegas deputy charged with aggravated battery and robbery
Business: A downtown Albuquerque shoe shine parlor is still serving patrons after nearly a century
Events: What's happening around New Mexico May 30-June 5? Kirtland Air Fiesta and more
Balloon Fiesta is the second-busiest period for the Sunport following the holiday season. It draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. 'We are pleased to see Delta bringing guests from the Motor City and Jet City straight to the heart of Balloon Fiesta,' said Aviation Department Business Development Manager Dan Jiron. 'These flights reflect growing demand for one of the most visually stunning events in the world—and we look forward to welcoming travelers from these new destinations.'
Mayor Tim Keller says the city is grateful that Delta's new flights will make it easier for people to join the celebration.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
a day ago
- NBC News
Confusion surrounds Air India as crash dents national pride
Before one of its planes crashed just after takeoff last month, killing at least 260 people, Air India had been a symbol of the country's global rise. Only two years earlier, chief executive Campbell Wilson had inaugurated a brand-new Airbus A350, Air India's first, calling it 'a declaration of Indian aviation's resurgence on the world stage.' The aircraft's delivery made headlines across the country, where the public cheered Air India's transformation from a neglected state-owned flagship carrier into a modern airline that its new owners, the Tata Group, hoped would become the world's biggest. Under the Indian conglomerate, which founded the airline in 1932 and bought it back in 2022 after it spent decades under government operation, Air India was making big moves, announcing a record order in 2023 of 470 aircraft valued at more than $70 billion. A year later, the airline said it had begun a $400 million retrofit of its legacy fleet, accelerating the upgrade by leasing jets from other airlines, including Delta. That momentum came to a grinding halt last month when a London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed seconds after takeoff in the northwestern Indian city of Ahmedabad, killing all but one of the 242 people aboard plus 19 others on the ground in one of India's worst aviation disasters. Air India has since been under immense pressure to answer for the crash, but bereaved families were left with more questions after investigators released a preliminary report this month that said the plane's fuel switches had been wrongly cut off, leading to speculation that one of the pilots might have done it accidentally or even intentionally. Indian investigators and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, which is involved in the crash investigation as the aircraft is U.S.-made, said such conclusions were irresponsible. 'Investigations of this magnitude take time,' NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said, while India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau urged the public and the media to 'refrain from spreading premature narratives.' But Indian commentators were already irate. 'Why do this rumor mill mongering about possible problems with the pilot?' Arnab Goswami, a firebrand anchor, said on his conservative Republic Media Network. 'So that across the world the impression goes that Indian pilots cannot fly?' Capt. C.S. Randhawa, a former pilot for Air India and the Indian air force, said the suggestion that one of the pilots may have crashed the plane deliberately has 'demoralized the pilots in the country.' 'All pilots are up in arms, and it's not a good thing. The pilots have to fly with that mental attitude,' Randhawa, who is currently the president of the Federation of Indian Pilots, told NBC News. The final report is due next year. On top of the lack of clarity, some British families hoping to bury their loved ones said they had received the remains of the wrong people, according to the Daily Mail, which cited a lawyer representing them. The Indian foreign ministry said Wednesday that all remains were being handled with 'utmost professionalism' and that it was working closely with the British side to address concerns. Air India was also warned last week by India's aviation regulator that it could face enforcement action over more than two dozen safety violations from this year and last year, Reuters reported, citing government notices. They include pilots not being given mandatory rest and poor compliance with simulator training requirements. The airline, which voluntarily disclosed the problems last month, said Friday that it would respond to the regulator and that it 'remains fully committed to ensuring the safety of its passengers and staff.' Air India was already under enormous pressure to clean up its reputation after falling into disrepair during its nearly 70 years of government ownership. Its reform nevertheless aligned perfectly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's nationalist narrative of turning India into a global superpower. 'Given its legacy, the brand remains synonymous with India,' said Shelley Vishwajeet, a New Delhi-based aviation journalist and author of 'The IndiGo Story,' a book about the Indian airline. He added that the cultural transformation within Air India 'has been a challenge' for its new owners. Things moved quickly after the takeover by the Tata Group, which consolidated several airlines it controlled, including Vistara and Air Asia India, into two entities: the full-cost carrier Air India and its budget arm, Air India Express. Vistara, which was partly owned by Singapore Airlines, was particularly beloved by Indians, known for its modern planes and best-in-class customer experience. When it merged with Air India, travelers and crew hoped that Air India would be the true Vistara successor. But Air India has struggled to deliver change as fast as some had hoped. 'They're struggling with maintenance issues, disrepair issues, and all these things are taking time,' Randhawa said.
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Miami Herald
A price just for you, specifically
Imagine that an airline notices you've booked a five-star hotel, so it charges you more for your ticket than it would have if you had booked a four- or three-star hotel. That's the vision of personalized pricing, a concept that has for years intrigued companies and enraged consumer advocates. While consumer backlash may still give companies pause, some roadblocks to widespread use of the strategy may be clearing. The Trump administration introduced a plan this past week to clear the way for artificial intelligenceinnovation, reinforcing its embrace of AI and raising questions about whether inquiries into the practice that Biden-era regulators started will be given any priority. At the same time, the technology has developed at a rapid pace. 'It's going to be: Whatever you can get away with, it's legal,' Robert W. Mann, an independent airline industry analyst and former airline executive, said. When it comes to regulatory scrutiny, he added, 'from curious to none is probably the transition.' Delta Air Lines promoted its plans this month to ramp up its use of AI to set prices. And while it's not clear what data the airline is using -- and whether it constitutes personalized pricing -- privacy experts and industry analysts say many companies may see an opportunity to open what they've long considered to be an untapped gold mine. Delta has been met with swift backlash. It said on its latest earnings call that it was working with Fetcherr, an AI startup, and planned to use AI to price 20% of domestic routes by the end of this year. But it has pushed back against claims that it's turning to 'personalized' pricing. In a statement, it said it was leaning into new technology to streamline existing dynamic pricing models, which are based on market factors, not personal information. 'Fetcherr's technology has been developed to streamline processes already in place at companies and does not allow for individualized or personalized pricing,' the startup said in a statement. Regardless of the consumer data that Fetcherr is offering Delta specifically, an archived version of a Fetcherr blog post, reported earlier by the Thrifty Traveler blog, hailed the startup's ability to offer 'truly personalized' prices to travelers, based in part on their past purchases. Under the Biden administration, regulatory scrutiny of personalized pricing started to build. Members of Congress and data privacy experts have raised concerns about the strategy in industries such as groceries and travel. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission, under its previous chair, Lina Khan, opened an inquiry into 'surveillance pricing' -- another term for the use of personal data to set prices. The market study examined practices at several companies, including Mastercard, JPMorgan Chase and Accenture. Initial findings released in January said that 'consumer behaviors ranging from mouse movements on a webpage to the type of products that consumers leave unpurchased in an online shopping cart can be tracked and used by retailers to tailor consumer pricing.' It's not clear whether the Trump administration will make those inquiries a priority. The FTC under its new chair, Andrew Ferguson, withdrew public comment on surveillance pricing. Joe Simonson, an agency spokesperson, said that the study was ongoing. 'If Democrats are complaining about this practice, we're actually doing something about it. We're looking into this issue,' he said. An 'AI Action Plan' that President Donald Trump outlined this past week recommends that the FTC review prior investigations to make sure they don't 'unduly burden AI innovation.' 'All of that does lead to an opening for surveillance pricing, and emboldening,' Ben Winters, the director of AI and privacy at the Consumer Federation of America, said. Public backlash could still thwart AI pricing ambitions. After the uproar over Delta's public embrace of AI to set airfares, American Airlines called the practice inappropriate. 'Consumers need to know that they can trust American,' the CEO, Robert Isom, said on an earnings call. But Gene Burrus, a law and policy consultant who worked as American Airlines' competition lawyer 25 years ago, said consumer backlash was less of a concern for airlines than it used to be, in part because of consolidation in the industry. Mergers have left just a handful of major airlines, which means travelers have fewer places to turn if they're upset with an airline's pricing, he said. Will Congress step in? Three Democratic senators sent Delta a letter this past week raising concern about the airline's AI plans and the impact on travelers. A Republican senator, Josh Hawley of Missouri, said in a social media post that Delta's plans were 'the worst thing I have heard from the already awful airline industry.' Also this past week, Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, introduced legislation to ban surveillance pricing at the federal level. It's unclear how far that bill will go. A handful of states, including California, Georgia and New York, have introduced bills to regulate the practice, too, though several have stalled or been watered down. It's difficult to tell exactly what data companies are using. While critics worry about privacy breaches and higher prices, consumer companies have countered that AI-driven pricing won't harm already strained shoppers -- and could even lead to more discounts. For regulators, the competing claims pose a challenge, said Victoria Noble, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. She added: 'They would have to peer under the hood to look at what these tools are actually doing.' This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Copyright 2025
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
An Airline Worker Is Telling Travelers To Stop This One Luggage Tag Habit That's Fueling A Scam
If you're anything like me, one of the first things you want to do when you get out of baggage claim is rip off the ugly sticker luggage tag from your checked-in bag, or, let's be real, the carry-on you were forced to check in because there isn't enough space in overhead bins on the plane. Now, most of the time I rip them off when I get home or to my hotel. But, there have been lots of times I have ripped it off at the airport while waiting for my bus, car, or train to come pick me up, and apparently that is a big NO-NO. Recently, in the r/delta subreddit, u/Limp_Jeweler_2026, who says they work for Delta, explained why you should always remove your luggage tags at home because of a growing scam. Saying, "Good evening, everyone. I am a Delta baggage claims manager, and I just wanted to let everyone know to please start discarding your bag tags at home. We are getting an influx of fraudulent claims being submitted for 'missing items' as these people are observing who is removing their luggage tags in the claim areas and using your information to submit claims for reimbursement." They went on to add, "From my own personal experience in currently dealing with this, it is causing issues with reimbursing the real people if they submit a legitimate claim. So please be careful and don't take your tags off at the airport. They can steal enough information from that to use your travel itinerary to get paid." People in the comments were grateful for the advice: "Scams, fraud, and fuck around and find out are at an all-time high. This person is looking out for you!!! Do not scroll past this advice." —FormalTemporary2494 "Never would have occurred to me, but THANK YOU, OP!" —3ebgirl4eva "Japan had secured bag tag disposal receptacles near the secured exit of baggage claim. This explains why." —Longjumping-Usual-35 While others had even more advice about what to do with luggage tags: "I take my tags off as soon as I get my bag and stuff the tags inside my personal item. I believe my priority/business class tag had me targeted by a pickpocket many years ago." —06031eec "Just adding to this: Also, don't throw these away in your hotel room either. As a former hotel employee, there have been a few instances of fraud using bag tags found at hotels, too. Be vigilant!" —Pristine-Director716 "Not even bag tags, printed boarding passes as well. Next time you show up to your seat and someone else is there, don't be surprised, lol." —TRex2025 "Do one better. SHRED your bag tags and printed boarding passes as soon as you can after getting to your destination." —Helpful_Hovercraft25 You can read the original thread on Reddit. Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity. Are you someone who always tosses your luggage tags as soon as you get your bags at the airport? Are there other travel safety habits you follow that surprise you when others don't? Tell us in the comments below (anonymously) — you might be featured in an upcoming BuzzFeed post!
