- 19
- Episodes
- 2
- Ratings
- Weekly
- Cadence
- 2026
- First episode
About Skift Take Sessions
Skift Take Sessions is a weekly podcast built from the most important conversations shaping the global travel industry. Each episode features candid, journalist-led interviews with CEOs and senior leaders across airlines, hotels, travel platforms, and experiences. Recorded live at Skift events, these conversations go beyond headlines to explore how decisions are made, how companies compete, and how the industry is evolving. Hosted by Wil Slickers, Skift Take Sessions adds the context that matters — why each conversation is relevant now and what we learned. You’ll hear directly from leaders at companies like Hilton, Expedia Group, Booking Holdings, Airbnb, JetBlue, and more. If you want a clearer view into where travel is headed next, Skift Take Sessions delivers insight from the people shaping it. New episodes every week. Available wherever you get your podcasts and at Skift.com.
- Publisher
- Skift
- Category
- business · news · society & culture
- Language
- en
- Explicit
- No
- First episode
- 23 Jan 2026
- Latest episode
- 20 Oct 2026
Latest episodes
19 episodes in the feed.
20 Oct 2026
How First Class Jerk Is Building a Travel Media Brand
In this Skift Take Sessions episode, recorded at the Skift Creator Summit during Skift Global Forum, Sarah Dandashy sits down with Adam Lovick, founder of First Class Jerk, to discuss how he built a travel brand around irreverent storytelling, video, and photography. Lovick shares how his family’s history in the travel industry shaped his path and why he sees content and audience attention as a competitive advantage for travel brands. The conversation explores the growing role of creators in travel marketing, First Class Jerk’s plans to expand into YouTube and long-form storytelling, and opportunities in luxury cruising, destination partnerships, and hotel openings. Lovick also explains why travel brands should collaborate with creators on ideas and authentic storytelling rather than bringing them in only for individual campaigns. Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry. 00:00 Summit Intro and Reunion 00:55 Origin Story and Travel Roots 02:01 Creator Summit Takeaways 03:16 Why the Name Works 04:09 Access and YouTube Plans 04:43 Future Trends and Cruising 06:30 Advice for Brand Partnerships 07:57 Wrap Up and Shoutouts
15 Oct 2026
Steve Case on the Future of Luxury Travel and the Exclusive Collective
In this Skift Take Sessions episode, recorded at Skift Global Forum, Sarah Dandashy speaks with Steve Case, CEO of Revolution, about his growing investment in travel and hospitality and the strategy behind Exclusive Collective, which brings together Exclusive Resorts, Inspirato, and onefinestay. Case explains how the combined portfolio aims to serve luxury travelers through curated properties, personalized service, and greater flexibility. They also discuss the role of AI in luxury travel, why human connection and trust remain essential, and how the company plans to grow its portfolio of homes, resorts, and experiences. Case shares his outlook on the expanding luxury travel market and the development of Punta Cacique in Costa Rica and properties in Hawaii. This episode is sponsored by ZS. 00:00 Live From Skift Global Forum 00:19 From AOL To Revolution 01:30 Building Exclusive Collective 03:30 Curation Over Choice 04:27 Synergies And Scale 07:11 Onefinestay Portfolio Shift 09:04 Revenue Targets Check In 09:15 AI In Luxury Travel 10:45 Luxury Growth Flywheel 12:46 Whats Next In The Pipeline 14:13 Wrap Up And Thanks
13 Oct 2026
What It Takes to Put AI Into Production in Travel
In this Skift Take Sessions episode, recorded at the Skift Data & AI Summit in London, Sania Lali speaks with Benjamin Cany, Vice President of Product and Business Strategy for the AI Delivery Hub at Amadeus, about the challenges of moving AI from pilot projects into live travel operations. They discuss why AI initiatives should start with business problems, how governance and trust shape deployment, and what changes when AI moves from making recommendations to taking actions like rebooking flights. Cany also shares examples of Amadeus AI solutions reducing manual work and explains why clear human handoffs and collaboration across the travel ecosystem will be critical as agentic AI advances. Learn more at amadeus.com/ai. Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry. 00:00 Summit Intro 00:44 AI Adoption Shift 02:18 From Pilot to Production 03:50 Agentic Actions Risks 05:10 Trust and Governance 06:00 MAX for Travelers Example 07:17 Proving Business Value 08:43 Executive Next Steps 10:17 Closing and Resources
9 Oct 2026
Marriott and Meta: Why Creator Marketing Is Driving Travel Bookings
In this Skift Take Sessions episode, recorded at the Skift Creator Summit at Skift Global Forum, Katie Cline sits down with Laura Troy, Senior Director of Creative and Content for the U.S. and Canada at Marriott, and Sanjay Bhatia, Managing Director and Head of Industry at Meta, to discuss how creator marketing is evolving into a measurable driver of travel bookings. They explore why authentic storytelling and long-term creator relationships matter, how brands can balance creative freedom with business goals, and why engagement is often more valuable than follower counts. They also discuss how creator content in paid campaigns can improve performance and why travel brands need the right systems, measurement and internal alignment to scale their creator marketing efforts.
3 Oct 2026
Growth Under Pressure: The Decisions Hotel Brands Are Making Now
Recorded live at Skift Global Forum 2026, Jeremy Kressman talks with Heather Balsley, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer at IHG Hotels & Resorts, and Peter Manoogian, Partner at ZS, about hotel owner profitability, conversions and the changing economics of hotel growth. They also discuss how AI is reshaping hotel search, loyalty and distribution, and why machine-readable, accurate and consistent hotel content is becoming a critical demand driver. The conversation closes with a look at where hotel companies should focus their technology investments and why AI initiatives need to deliver more than marketing hype. This episode is brought to you by ZS Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry. 00:00 Intro 00:47 Owner Profitability 02:45 Conversions vs. New Builds 04:45 Demand Capture 06:30 Loyalty in the AI Era 08:45 Tech Investment Priorities 12:15 Final Takeaways
23 Jun 2026
When AI Books the Trip, Who Owns the Customer?
At Skift’s Data + AI Summit, Wil Slickers sits down with Rob Drotar, Industry Principal at Thoughtworks, to unpack one of the next major shifts facing travel: the rise of AI agents as a new customer interface. The conversation moves beyond chatbots and automation to the bigger commercial question: what happens to customer ownership when an AI agent starts discovering, comparing, recommending, and potentially booking travel on behalf of the traveler? Rob explains why business-to-agent matters, how OTAs and suppliers may approach the shift differently, and why direct booking strategies could face new pressure. The discussion also covers digital twins, data orchestration, legacy modernization, and what travel companies need to make their products agent-ready. More from Skift Takes Sessions: Want to access the full video of these sessions? Become a Skift Pro Subscriber today. We'd love to see you at our next Live Skift event. Learn more here to see where and when you can see these sessions in person with other industry leaders just like you. Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry. Episode Chapters: 0:00 — Intro / Episode overview 0:20 — Interview begins with Rob Drotar 1:47 — What is Business-to-Agent (B2A)? 3:00 — Which travel sectors are leading the shift? 5:17 — Digital twins explained 9:30 — How to get agent-ready (3 buckets) 11:51 — Data orchestration challenges 13:49 — Legacy systems & the build vs. buy shift 17:32 — What travel leaders will regret
10 Jun 2026
Aven Hospitality CEO on Building AI First from Day One
Recorded at Skift's third annual Data and AI Summit in New York City, David Peller sits down with Teresa Mackintosh, CEO of Aven Hospitality, to talk about what it actually looks like to build an AI-first company from the ground up. Just 11 months after being carved out of Sabre, Aven Hospitality is already seeing tangible results from its proprietary AI-powered Unified Hospitality Engineering Execution Platform, CodeNova, including a 30% increase in development capacity and over 50% improvement in code quality. Teresa also breaks down the build vs buy decision, why change management is the hardest part of any AI rollout, and how she is thinking about modernizing a legacy platform without losing its market-leading position. More from Skift Takes Sessions: Want to access the full video of these sessions? Become a Skift Pro Subscriber today. We'd love to see you at our next Live Skift event. Learn more here to see where and when you can see these sessions in person with other industry leaders just like you. Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry. 00:00 Summit Setup 00:12 AI Tools Pick 00:36 Change Management 01:15 Build Or Buy 01:48 Adoption Wins 02:34 Modernizing Legacy Stack 03:43 From Bartender To CEO 04:55 Career Pivot Point 05:53 Comfort And Risk 06:35 Closing Thanks
28 Apr 2026
Intrepid Travel’s Secret: Purpose, Profits, and Why Small-Group Tours Are Booming
Intrepid Travel is proving that you can build a mission-driven travel company and still be more profitable than ever. In this Skift Take Sessions episode, Wil Slickers tees up a Skift Global Forum conversation moderated by Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit with Intrepid Travel CEO James Thornton. Thornton breaks down how Intrepid uses a balanced stakeholder model and its B Corp framework to keep value in local communities while delivering an outstanding customer experience. He explains what is powering growth right now, from baby boomers chasing immersive experiences to younger travelers prioritizing trips over traditional milestones, and why the American market is the next big unlock through shorter, more flexible adventures. The conversation also hits a refreshingly honest moment on AI, where Thornton admits the industry is still figuring out “what on earth are we going to do,” while Intrepid tries to protect what makes its product work: human connection. More from Skift Takes Sessions: Want to access the full video of these sessions? Become a Skift Pro Subscriber today. We'd love to see you at our next Live Skift event. Learn more here to see where and when you can see these sessions in person with other industry leaders just like you. Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
21 Apr 2026
Destination Marketing Is Now AI Marketing: Brand USA and Spain’s Playbook for 2026
Destination marketing is changing fast, and this session makes it obvious why. In this Skift Take Sessions episode, Wil Slickers sits down with Skift tourism reporter Bailey Schulz to unpack the biggest takeaways from Skift Global Forum, where Skift CEO Rafat Ali speaks with Fred Dixon, CEO of Brand USA, and Miguel Sanz, President of the European Travel Commission and Director-General of Turespaña. Wil and Bailey break down the three shifts that matter most right now: why the next battleground is influencing how AI models recommend destinations, not just buying ads; why airlift and new point-to-point routes are unlocking secondary cities and changing visitor flows; and why overtourism has become as much a perception and management challenge as it is a marketing one. Then you’ll hear the full on-stage conversation, including Fred’s view on how Brand USA is rebuilding its global platform and Miguel’s argument that destinations need more marketing, not less, if they want demand to spread beyond the usual hotspots. More from Skift Takes Sessions: Want to access the full video of these sessions? Become a Skift Pro Subscriber today. We'd love to see you at our next Live Skift event. Learn more here to see where and when you can see these sessions in person with other industry leaders just like you. Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
14 Apr 2026
Sierra AI CEO Bret Taylor on Agents, Loyalty, and Distribution
AI is becoming the new front door to travel, and consumer behavior is moving faster than most companies can keep up. In this Skift Take Sessions episode, Wil Slickers sits down with Skift Head of Research Seth Borko to break down what matters most from Rafat Ali’s Skift Global Forum conversation with Sierra AI CEO Bret Taylor, who also chairs the OpenAI board. Wil and Seth unpack why distribution is the first battleground, why travel brands need to start building and cleaning up their data now, and why the real upside is not just cost-cutting but loyalty and revenue growth through personalized service at scale. More from Skift Takes Sessions: Want to access the full video of these sessions? Become a Skift Pro Subscriber today. We'd love to see you at our next Live Skift event. Learn more here to see where and when you can see these sessions in person with other industry leaders just like you. Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
24 Mar 2026
Prism’s Motel 6 Bet: Ritesh Agarwal’s IPO Setup and the Budget Hotel Comeback
OYO is now Prism, and the strategy is bigger than a name change. In this Skift Take Sessions episode, Wil Slickers sits down with Skift hospitality reporter Sean O’Neill to break down what Prism CEO Ritesh Agarwal is really building after years of pivots: a business that is now essentially split between India and the U.S., anchored by the Motel 6 acquisition and a push to modernize the budget experience with a tech rebuild. Wil and Sean unpack why “iconic” matters for Motel 6 despite its baggage, what a real turnaround would require (digital, standards, and property churn), and why Prism is doubling down on economy and extended stay through Studio 6 while much of the industry chases upscale. They also dig into the IPO signal, with Ritesh framing the board’s active evaluation of an India listing and why India’s travel market momentum is part of the timing. More from Skift Takes Sessions: Want to access the full video of these sessions? Become a Skift Pro Subscriber today. We'd love to see you at our next Live Skift event. Learn more here to see where and when you can see these sessions in person with other industry leaders just like you. Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
17 Mar 2026
IHG CEO: “Growth Is Moving East” + The Ruby Bet and the Next Wave of Hotel Conversions
In this Skift Take Sessions episode, Wil Slickers sits down with Skift hospitality reporter Sean O’Neill for a quick, high-signal setup on what mattered most from IHG CEO Elie Maalouf’s Skift Global Forum appearance. Wil and Sean break down three big themes listeners should be paying attention to: why IHG believes the center of gravity in travel is moving east and what that means in real numbers, the playbook differences in Japan versus India, and why IHG’s Ruby acquisition is a strategic bet on conversion-friendly, design-led urban hotels. More from Skift Takes Sessions: Want to access the full video of these sessions? Become a Skift Pro Subscriber today! We'd love to see you at our next Live Skift event! Learn more here to see where and when you can see these sessions in person with other industry leaders just like you! Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
10 Mar 2026
Alaska Airlines Under Pressure: IT Outages, Hawaiian Integration, and the Seattle Global Push
Alaska Airlines is in one of the most important transition moments in its modern history, and it is happening under real operational pressure. In this Skift Take Sessions episode, Wil Slickers opens with a quick setup conversation with Skift Airlines reporter Meghna Maharishi before rolling into the on-stage session with Alaska Airlines COO Jason Berry from the Skift Aviation Forum. Meghna and Wil break down what matters most: why Alaska’s recent IT failures became a leadership-level issue, what it actually takes to build resilience (not just prevention), and how the Hawaiian integration is reshaping Alaska’s ambitions through Seattle, including the long-haul roadmap and what “going global” really means for the airline. More from Skift Takes Sessions: Want to access the full video of these sessions? Become a Skift Pro Subscriber today! We'd love to see you at our next Live Skift event! Learn more here to see where and when you can see these sessions in person with other industry leaders just like you! Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
3 Mar 2026
JetBlue’s Reality Check: Joanna Geraghty on Disruptions, Decisions, and the Comeback Plan
This episode starts with a quick setup conversation between Wil Slickers and Skift’s airlines editor Gordon Smith, teeing up why this JetBlue session hits differently: it opens with a real-time operational disruption and a leadership test you cannot spin your way around. Then we roll into Gordon’s on-stage conversation from Skift Aviation Forum with JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty, covering what happened, what JetBlue learned, and how the airline thinks about making high-stakes calls when customers only remember the day something breaks. More from Skift Takes Sessions: Want to access the full video of these sessions? Become a Skift Pro Subscriber today! We'd love to see you at our next Live Skift event! Learn more here to see where and when you can see these sessions in-person with other industry leaders just like you! Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
24 Feb 2026
Is ChatGPT the New Travel Gatekeeper? Glenn Fogel on Booking’s AI Strategy
If AI becomes the front door to travel, who wins and who pays? Wil Slickers sits down with Dennis Schaal for a sharp, no-fluff breakdown of the biggest takeaways from Skift Global Forum, including the question everyone is asking: Is ChatGPT a paid marketing channel yet, or just the start of a new distribution shift? Dennis and Wil unpack what matters for the future of travel discovery, how monetization pressure could reshape the funnel, and what it means for platforms like Booking when the interface changes. More from Skift Takes Sessions: Want to access the full video of these sessions? Become a Skift Pro Subscriber today! We'd love to see you at our next Live Skift event! Learn more here to see where and when you can see these sessions in-person with other industry leaders just like you! Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
17 Feb 2026
Breeze Airways Explained: David Neeleman on Underserved Routes, Premium Product, and the SAF Debate
In this Skift Take Sessions episode, Wil Slickers opens with a quick conversation with Skift’s airlines editor Gordon Smith to break down the real story behind Breeze Airways, and why most people misunderstand what the airline actually is. Then we roll into Gordon’s on-stage session from the Skift Aviation Forum in December 2025 with Breeze founder and CEO David Neeleman. Neeleman walks through Breeze’s thesis of connecting overlooked secondary cities to major leisure hubs, shares his view on how hard it is for new airline challengers to survive today, and delivers a moment that lit up the room with his take on sustainable aviation fuel. More from Skift Takes Sessions: Want to access the full video of these sessions? Become a Skift Pro Subscriber today! We'd love to see you at our next Live Skift event! Learn more here to see where and when you can see these sessions in-person with other industry leaders just like you! Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
10 Feb 2026
Airbnb: Services, Hotels, and Why Chesky Thinks AI Will Rewrite Travel Search
In this Skift Take Sessions episode, Wil Slickers opens with a quick conversation with Dennis Schaal to break down what mattered most from Skift Global Forum, before we roll the full on-stage session featuring Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky in conversation with Skift CEO Rafat Ali at Skift Global Forum. Wil and Dennis tee up the two storylines listeners should watch closely: Airbnb’s push into services and experiences, plus the bigger strategic play around hotels, and Chesky’s belief that AI will turn travel search into “matching,” not just a chatbot. Then Chesky explains how Airbnb is thinking about the next interface for trip planning and what that shift means for marketplaces trying to own the customer journey. More from Skift Takes Sessions: Want to access the full video of these sessions? Become a Skift Pro Subscriber today! We'd love to see you at our next Live Skift event! Learn more here to see where and when you can see these sessions in-person with other industry leaders just like you! Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
3 Feb 2026
Southwest’s Big Reinvention: Assigned Seats, Bag Fees, and a 2026 Profit Surge
Southwest Airlines is rewriting its identity, and the story is bigger than “assigned seating” and “bags fly free.” To kick off the first episode of Skift Take Sessions, Wil Slickers sits down with Skift airlines reporter Meghna Maharishi for a quick pre-session breakdown of why these changes are happening now, including activist pressure from Elliott Investment Management and the post-pandemic shift toward premium demand. Then we roll into a live session from the Skift Aviation Forum in December 2025, where Tom Doxey lays out the transformation in plain terms: assigned seating, extra legroom, bag fees, basic economy, free Wi-Fi, new destinations, and what it all means for Southwest’s margins in 2026. Moderated by Brian Sumers. More from Skift Takes Sessions: Want to access the full video of these sessions? Become a Skift Pro Subscriber today! We'd love to see you at our next Live Skift event! Learn more here to see where and when you can see these sessions in-person with other industry leaders just like you! Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
23 Jan 2026
What is Skift Take Sessions?
Skift Take Sessions is a new weekly podcast for anyone who wants to understand how the global travel industry really works. In this trailer, host Wil Slickers introduces the show and explains what listeners can expect each week — candid, journalist-led conversations with CEOs and senior leaders across airlines, hotels, and travel platforms, recorded live at Skift events. Rather than headlines or press releases, Skift Take Sessions focuses on how decisions are made, how companies compete, and what these conversations tell us about where travel is headed next. You’ll hear directly from leaders at companies like Hilton, Expedia Group, Booking Holdings, Airbnb, JetBlue, and more. If you’re new to Skift or new to travel business podcasts, this trailer is the best place to start.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
- Apple Podcasts (US)
- 5.0 / 5
- 1 ratings
- Spotify
- 5.0 / 5
- 1 ratings
Contact Skift Take Sessions
- Guest appearances
- Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Skift Take Sessions?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show
Podcast research with Pod Engine