As Delta launches its largest-ever transatlantic schedule, destination-inspired celebrations and special onboard touches brought the airline’s newest European routes to life.

Across Boston, Seattle and New York, destination-inspired experiences, local treats and commemorative keepsakes transformed inaugural departures into memorable travel moments as Delta launched new service to Madrid, Nice, Rome, Barcelona, Sardinia and Porto, with Malta launching in June.

Across each inaugural, Delta teams found thoughtful ways to turn a flight into a memory. Customers were welcomed onboard with special notes commemorating the occasion and invited to write postcards to friends and family before departure. Those postcards traveled across the Atlantic alongside them, with Delta teams mailing each one from its destination so it would arrive home bearing an authentic local postmark.

On various Mediterranean and seaside routes, customers also received custom destination-themed towels created exclusively for the inaugural flights, giving them another keepsake to remember the journey.

The Journey Starts at the Gate
In Boston, customers traveling to Madrid stepped into a celebration inspired by Spanish culture, complete with soccer-themed elements, meats and cheese, and sangria-inspired refreshments before boarding.

Onboard, customers received traditional Spanish-style hand fans and commemorative luggage tags celebrating the inaugural flight.

Days later, customers departing for Nice enjoyed a French Riviera-inspired sendoff featuring live music, flower market touches and destination-themed treats.

In Seattle, customers celebrating new service to Rome and Barcelona enjoyed destination-inspired gate activations, local favorite Bell’s Cookies, pop-up Sky Club experiences and commemorative gifts marking the historic flights.

At New York-JFK, Delta expanded its Mediterranean network with new service to Sardinia and Porto. Customers departing for Sardinia were welcomed by Sardinian-themed decorations and flags, Italian music, regional sweets and a special greeting from Delta Flight Attendant Luca, a Sardinia native helping customers begin their journey with a personal connection to the destination.

For Porto, customers enjoyed Portuguese-inspired décor, music and small bites ahead of boarding.

Bringing the Celebration Across the Atlantic
The inaugural festivities didn’t end at departure.

In Olbia, a water cannon salute welcomed Delta’s inaugural flight from New York, marking the first-ever nonstop connection between Sardinia and the U.S. Airport leaders, tourism officials, local partners and Delta teams from across the business gathered to celebrate the milestone, while Roberto Ioriatti, Delta’s Senior Vice President of Revenue Management and International Pricing and an Italy native, joined local media events marking the launch. Local coverage hailed the new route as a historic moment for the island, with one headline proclaiming, With the flight from New York, the island’s dream comes true.

Flight Attendant Luca, who helped welcome customers on the inaugural journey, was also featured prominently across local media coverage.

In Porto, Delta teams joined airport and community leaders for ribbon cuttings, celebratory events and media interviews as the airline launched service to its second destination in Portugal.

Similar celebrations took place in Nice, Rome, Barcelona and Madrid as Delta marked the launch of new routes and expanded service across Europe.

Up Next: Malta
The celebrations aren’t over yet.

On June 7, Delta will launch new nonstop service between New York-JFK and Malta, adding another Mediterranean destination to the airline’s growing European network and continuing a summer of inaugural celebrations on both sides of the Atlantic. Customers traveling on the inaugural flight can look forward to receiving several commemorative touches marking Delta’s newest route.

More Ways to Explore Europe
While Delta celebrates the launch of new routes to Madrid, Nice, Rome, Barcelona, Sardinia Porto and Malta, the airline also resumed seasonal service to customer favorites including Edinburgh, Zurich, Munich, Dublin, Copenhagen, Reykjavik, Catania, Prague and Shannon from several of its hubs as part of its largest-ever trans-Atlantic schedule.

Together, these additions give customers more ways than ever to explore Europe.

SAS is introducing its own business credit card for Scandinavian small and medium-sized enterprises. The initiative is designed to combine travel benefits, payment functionality, and expense management.

The new program marks a significant milestone for SAS as the company develops and operates its own business credit card under the SAS EuroBonus umbrella. It positions SAS among the first global airline loyalty programs to launch a business offering enabled by embedded finance infrastructure, with SAS taking ownership of the customer experience and value proposition, alongside trusted financial partners

This program is built with a simple purpose: to make everyday business life easier for our customers. Companies tell us they want less administration, clearer travel benefits and a card that genuinely supports how Scandinavian businesses operate. With this program, they get smoother expense handling, EuroBonus points, better travel experiences for their teams and a single product that replaces what previously required several cards and platforms, says Paul Verhagen, Chief Commercial Officer at SAS.

Built for the next generation of business spending, the new offering seeks to fill a g in the Scandinavian market, where no existing card or solution fully combines loyalty, technology and banking into one seamless experience.

The platform is powered by Nordiska’s embedded finance and Cards‑as‑a‑Service (CaaS) infrastructure, enabling card issuance and credit cabilities, while the p experience and expense management functionality are delivered by the Danish fintech company Cardlay.

The launch comes in the same year as SAS marks its 80th anniversary, underscoring the company’s long tradition of innovation in Scandinavian travel.

First product launch and phased rollout across Scandinavia

The rollout will take place in phases across Scandinavia, beginning with the introduction of its first product: the SAS EuroBonus Executive Business Card.

The credit card is designed for executives, business owners and finance managers at small and medium‑sized enterprises, and will be issued on the Mastercard network as a World Elite card.

Customers receive 20.000 yearly Level Points, SAS Lounge access, Priority Pass membership, premium travel insurance, digital cards, flexible credit limits and a dedicated p with full expense and receipt management integrated directly into ERP systems. In addition, cardholders earn 25 EuroBonus points per 100 SEK/DKK/NOK spent, making it the highest EuroBonus earning card rate available on the market.

The card is crafted in metal and tailored for frequent travelers who want both control and convenience in their company spending.

Jet2 has today reported positive updates about fuel supply, supporting its plans to operate its flying programme as normal this summer.

This comes on the back of the company’s latest dialogue with fuel suppliers, who have reported increased production and additional imports from areas unaffected by the Middle East conflict.

These positive developments mean that Jet2 is continuing to look forward to taking customers on their well-deserved holidays this summer. Today’s update follows a report issued just last week which saw Jet2 top a UK resilience ranking as the best protected UK airline against elevated fuel costs.

Jet2 has already confirmed its plans to operate as normal this summer and, on top of that, was the first UK airline and tour operator to reassure customers that it would not introduce surcharges on any booked flights or holidays to cover cost increases, for example jet fuel. Put simply, the price at which customers book with Jet2 is the price they will pay. In an industry-leading move, Jet2 removed the surcharge provision across all flights and holidays, even though it has never been plied.

The company has also reaffirmed its reputation as a consumer champion by pledging that customers will continue to benefit from flexibility and swift refunds in the unlikely event of any flight or holiday cancellations. Throughout the Covid pandemic, Jet2 earned widespread praise for the way it refunded customers quickly and efficiently, unlike many other companies in the industry, and has today confirmed that it will continue to follow its guiding principle of putting customers first.

Steve Hey, CEO of Jet2 said: We are in regular dialogue with our fuel suppliers, and the current picture is one of increased production and imports, meaning we continue to look ahead with confidence. We have already been very clear about our plans to operate our schedule as normal this summer, and our message to holidaymakers is that summer is on.

He added: This confidence, on top of the incredible value that our award-winning holidays offer right now, means it is a fantastic time to get that well-deserved holiday locked in, and we know that many people are taking advantage of that right now. Everything is geared up and ready for a busy summer and we look forward to welcoming everybody onboard and creating fantastic memories with Jet2.

The Rajasthan Tourism Department has announced the rollout of its Rajasthan in Summer campaign, designed to promote off-season travel and reposition the state as a year-round tourism destination. The initiative aims to move beyond Rajasthan’s traditional winter-centric tourism image by highlighting immersive experiences rooted in heritage, culture, wildlife, and local lifestyles.

The campaign will be integrated with existing promotional initiatives such as Visit My State and Holiday in Rajasthan, with a focus on attracting both domestic and international travellers during the summer season. According to officials, the objective is to showcase a quieter and more authentic side of Rajasthan, offering alternatives to peak-season crowd-driven travel.

Joint Director of Tourism, Daleep Singh Rathore, said the campaign is being implemented under the guidance of Deputy Chief Minister and Tourism Minister Diya Kumari. He added that the initiative is aimed at strengthening Rajasthan’s identity as a destination suitable for all seasons, with a focus on sustainable tourism growth.

As part of the campaign strategy, the department is developing a structured outreach plan centred on digital storytelling, social media engagement, and experiential tourism. Lesser-explored destinations across the state will be promoted through curated thematic narratives designed to peal to modern travellers seeking immersive and meaningful experiences.

Udaipur will be positioned around lake tourism, sunrise and sunset experiences, and cultural evenings. Bundi will be highlighted as a hidden heritage destination known for its stepwells, historic streets, and architectural significance. Jaipur and Jodhpur will continue to focus on palace stays, heritage hospitality, traditional cuisine, and evening cultural programmes.

The Thar Desert region, including Barmer, will be promoted for desert tourism, solo travel experiences, and rural immersion activities. Wildlife tourism will also form a key component of the campaign, with the department aiming to highlight increased wildlife sightings at Ranthambore National Park during the summer season to sustain visitor interest during the lean period.

Officials said the campaign will prioritise digital-first communication formats, including short-form video content and cinematic travel storytelling, moving away from conventional tourism advertising. The proach is intended to engage younger travellers who prefer experience-led journeys.

The department further noted that the initiative aligns with the government’s broader focus on tourism infrastructure development, heritage conservation, and promotion of lesser-known destinations. The campaign is also expected to involve hospitality stakeholders, heritage hotel operators, travel companies, artisans, and folk performers, thereby supporting local livelihoods and strengthening tourism-linked economic activity across the state.

RateGain Travel Technologies Limited, a global leader in AI-powered SaaS solutions for travel and hospitality, today announced the consolidation of its commercial organisation across Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (AC & MEA), where it has expanded its local teams x5 over the past year, reaching more than 100 professionals in the region.
This exponential growth, driven by the acquisition of Sojern, reflects the company’s strategic focus on accelerating the adoption of end-to-end AI-powered solutions among hoteliers across the market and further strengthens AC & MEA markets as strategic growth markets within RateGain global business.
The expansion is led by Anurag Jain, Executive Vice President, AC & MEA, who has spent the past year building what is now one of the region’s most comprehensive hospitality commercial organizations. Under his leadership, AI-powered distribution, pricing intelligence, demand generation, digital marketing, guest engagement, and travel intent data have been brought together under a single connected platform and into the hands of a single regional partner for hotels.
The hotel reality this is built to solve
Across AC & MEA, hoteliers are navigating a paradox. Demand is digitizing faster than ever. Travelers are searching, comparing, and booking across more channels than at any point in history. AI tools are everywhere. Yet hotel commercial leaders report the same frustrations: too many vendors, too little attribution, AI that adds noise rather than outcomes, and mounting pressure to cture direct demand without the in-house resources to do so.
The company focus on the region is to help hotels exit the era of fragmented commercial stacks, where every problem comes with a new vendor, a new dashboard, and a new integration, and move them into one unified, AI-first growth model.
Hotels don’t need more dashboards, more vendors, or more complexity. They need outcomes. Our job is to make every hotel discoverable at the moment demand is created, convert that demand more effectively, and grow guest value — through one connected, AI-powered ecosystem. AI shouldn’t create more noise. It should make growth simpler, faster, and more measurable. commented Anurag Jain, Executive Vice President, AC & MEA, RateGain

Strong regional execution with strategic leadership pointments
Over the past twelve months, Jain has led the integration and expansion of the combined RateGain–Sojern commercial organization across the region’s highest-momentum markets, including Indian Subcontinent, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Singore, Jan, China, Dubai, and Africa.
Hospitality leaders across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa are fundamentally rethinking how they acquire guests, price inventory, drive direct bookings, and engage travelers. Our goal is to make that transformation practical, scalable, and commercially meaningful. The markets we operate in don’t reward complexity. They reward speed and results. said Anurag Jain.
To execute on this regional ambition, Jain has built out a senior leadership structure with pointments spanning sales, enterprise, account management, partnerships, and marketing across AC & MEA. Some of the recent notable pointments include:
• Camille Venturina, leading commercial expansion across Singore and Oceania, based in Singore
• Abhay Khanna, driving new business growth across Asia, based in India
• Ram Mohan Dubey, scaling regional sales execution and go-to-market performance across middle east and africa, based in Dubai
• Sverre Christiansen, driving enterprise transformation and strategic expansion across middle east and africa, based in Dubai
• Shukun Ma, driving growth and strategic partnerships in one of Asia’s most important travel markets – China, based in Beijing
• Ruka Nagai, expanding RateGain’s presence across Jan, based in tokyo
• Erhan Bayraktar and Monis Rizwan, expanding RateGain’s presence across Turkey
• Sudhir Ghildiyal, leading enterprise growth and strategic hotel partnerships across Southeast Asia, based in India
• Anubhav Agrawal, eading account management for SMB accounts in AC & MEA, based in India
• Sneha Mishra, leading account management for Travel Partners accounts in AC & MEA, based in India
• Javier Martinez, driving customer expansion, adoption, and commercial outcomes across AC, based in Thailand
• Rakesh Joshi, leading customer growth and strategic account development across MEA, based in Dubai
• Wafei Safwat Mekhail, leading account management growth across Saudi Arabia
• Alfred Tadrous, leading account management growth in Egypt, based in Cairo
• Shareshtha Sachdeva, expanding ecosystem partnerships and strategic channel alliances across the region, based in India
• Garima Dubey, building regional brand leadership and demand generation across AC & MEA, based in India
This regional leadership model enables RateGain Travel Technologies to execute with local market intimacy while scaling with global consistency—bringing AI, data, demand, distribution, and guest engagement together into one connected commercial engine for the region’s hoteliers.
The momentum continues, with rid expansion underway across high-growth markets spanning Turkey, Vietnam, and Australia with additional strategic market launches planned across AC & MEA.