🛫 Axios PM: Saving cheap flights

Plus: Living military history | Tuesday, March 07, 2023

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Amazon   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Mar 07, 2023 👋 Hello, Tuesday happy hour! Today's PM — edited by Erica Pandey — is 553 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for the copy edit.     1 big thing: The fight to save cheap flights Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   The cost of plane tickets is climbing higher and higher — and pricing some customers out of flying. Stunning stat: Airline fares were up 25.6% in January, compared with the same month a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Justice Department today filed an antitrust suit to block JetBlue's planned $3.8 billion takeover of Spirit Airlines, Axios' Jacob Knutson reports. "JetBlue's plan would eliminate the unique competition that Spirit provides — and about half of all ultra-low-cost airline seats in the industry — and leave tens of millions of travelers to face higher fares and fewer options," DOJ lawyers wrote. 🖼️ The big picture: The lawsuit comes amid intensifying scrutiny of the airline industry as delays, cancellations and soaring ticket prices frustrate travelers, who are expected to hit the skies in droves this year. Airlines raised prices post-pandemic due to surging demand for travel, a short supply of pilots and flights, and the high cost of jet fuel. And those fares haven't come down. Plane ticket prices are expected to remain above pre-pandemic levels through the summer, according to analysis by the travel app Hopper. 🥊 Reality check: It's far cheaper to fly now than it was a few decades ago. Fares are down 33% since 1995, after adjusting for inflation.     2. 🇨🇳 Semafor's China problem Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   Semafor, the 5-month-old news startup, is drawing criticism in the U.S. for partnering with a think tank in China that is known to have close ties to the Chinese Communist Party, Axios' Sara Fischer and Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian report. Why it matters: The collaboration is notable because the organization Semafor is partnering with — and its leader — has a track record of misleading Western audiences about its affiliation with the CCP. What's happening: Semafor last week announced a new initiative called "China and Global Business" to serve as a platform for business leaders to discuss U.S.-China relations. Semafor is partnering with the Center for China and Globalization. The center's founder and director, Wang Huiyao, sits on the board of Semafor's initiative. In a blog post Sunday evening, Semafor CEO Justin Smith said the company "deliberately and explicitly structured" its agreements with partners of the initiative to protect its journalistic independence. Go deeper.     A message from Amazon "Amazon pays 100% of my tuition"     Amazon offers prepaid tuition, helping associates like Billy earn their degrees without worrying about the cost. "The fact that they offer tuition, you just can't beat that," said Billy. Key numbers: Billy is just one of 100,000+ Amazon employees who has taken part in Career Choice. Read more.     3. Catch me up Data: Gannett company filings. Table: Alice Feng/Axios 🗞️ Gannett has shed nearly half of its workforce. The debt accrued from its merger with GateHouse has forced the nation's largest newspaper company to slash costs, including cutting workers and decreasing its number of weekly newspapers by 127. Go deeper. 🤖 Salesforce is adding ChatGPT to Slack as part of a partnership with OpenAI. Go deeper.     4. 📸 One for the history books Photo: CBS News Above: This is the first time you've ever seen these leaders together. 📺 In honor of Women's History Month, Norah O'Donnell interviewed these groundbreaking military leaders at the Military Women's Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, to air tonight on the "CBS Evening News." From left: Navy Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Vice Chief of Naval Operations ... Army Gen. Laura Richardson, Commander of U.S. Southern Command ... Adm. Linda Fagan, Coast Guard Commandant ... and Air Force Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost, Commander of U.S. Transportation Command. For years, Van Ovost was the only woman among 43 four-star generals and admirals. Now she has three sisters-in-arms.     A message from Amazon How this part-time associate finished her degree and earned a promotion     Sisi started as a part-time associate at Amazon. With the help of prepaid tuition from Amazon, she finished her degree and is now working in Amazon HR. Even better: Now Sisi helps her colleagues learn about the benefits Amazon offers, including prepaid tuition and free skills training. Learn more.   Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: