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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 8h

That's what I hate about this kind of tourism. Tulum, Mykonos, and Ibiza are completely different places. But you can visit all three and have the same trip: the same restaurant, the same music, the same crowd, the same prices. The place is just the backdrop.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 8h

Meanwhile, the basics didn't keep up. In 2023, Tulum's sanitation coverage was 67.5%. Next door in Playa del Carmen's municipality, it was 97.8%. Officials were still opening new public beach access points in 2025.

Panoramic photograph of Tulum’s Caribbean beach in 2024. It illustrates the coast discussed in the post, not historical access conditions. Photo: edenpictures, CC BY 2.0. Source: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tulum_Beach_Panorama.jpg

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 8h

Tulum still has local culture, but the hotel zone makes it easy to skip. You can spend a whole trip moving between compounds, clubs, and photo spots without seeing much of the town.

Avenida Tulum in the town center in 2024. The photo provides town context; it is not proof that local culture is absent. Photo: edenpictures, CC BY 2.0. Source: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Avenida_Tulum.jpg

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 8h

Bagatelle Tulum's official menu lists caviar at up to MX$32,500. At the bottom it says, “If you didn't post it, it didn't happen.” That one line explains modern Tulum better than I can.

Source capture from Bagatelle Tulum's official menu. It lists Roman pizza at MX$1,450 and caviar at MX$12,900 to MX$32,500.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 8h

Now every hotel promises its own “real Tulum” and sells the same design, food, party, and photos. It's expensive because status is the product.

Taboo beach-club setting in Tulum at night in 2022, with teepees, loungers and curated lighting. It illustrates one venue’s aesthetic, not current prices or every hotel. Photo: Saloca, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TulumTeePeeNightView.jpg

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 8h

Then COVID hit, and Tulum found a look built for Instagram: thatch, pale wood, jungle dinners, and DJs by the water. Developers copied it, scaled it, and sold it back at luxury prices. Hotel rooms went from 8,138 in 2019 to 10,981 by the end of 2022, up 35% in three years.

Official Hilton image of the rooftop pool at Motto by Hilton Tulum, a hotel announced for a 2022 opening. The photo illustrates one property added during Tulum's hotel-building boom; it does not prove the total room count.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 8h

It wasn't always like this. Tulum's original value prop was simple: Maya ruins above Caribbean water, cenotes, and a small town behind the beach. The place itself was the attraction, not an anodyne resort complex.

Tulum’s Maya ruins above the Caribbean beach in 2016. Historical place photograph, not current beach conditions. Photo: FeldBum, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beach_and_Ruins_at_Tulum.jpg

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 8h

Why does Tulum suck so much? I went once and would never go back, and I'm not alone: occupancy fell 8.1 points this year, nearly 5x Mexico's drop. It feels like a special place that got bad plastic surgery: generic, cheap-feeling, unnatural, and expensive.

Nine original X post screenshots about Tulum arranged in two balanced columns. The posts describe Tulum as overpriced, gentrified, culturally detached, repetitive, and affected by tourist-trap pricing, traffic, bad roads, and sargassum. These are individual public opinions, not a representative survey.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 10h

I look forward to the Delta One Lounge more than the flight itself. Starting January 19, Basic Business tickets won't get you in. How much would Delta have to knock off your fare before you'd skip it? x.com/adampnathan...

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Adam Nathan (@adampnathan) on X

I fly so much that most travel feels mundane and annoying now. But I still look forward to the Delta One Lounge. The food is excellent, the drinks are great, and it's beautiful and actually relaxi…

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 17h

I think Air New Zealand should finish the 787 retrofit, build Christchurch into a second gateway, and keep spare jets so one engine problem can't wipe out Chicago again. So yes, it works. But at the end of the world there's little margin for error, and last year showed it.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 17h

Then there's business class. Air New Zealand kept its terrible herringbone Business Premier seat for far too long. As of June, only 9 of 14 787s had the new cabin. The replacement is much better and finally competitive. The retrofit needs to finish.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 17h

Long haul is the part people know, and the riskiest. After 2014, it added Houston, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Taipei, and New York. Buenos Aires ended. Engine problems grounded 20% of the fleet and paused Chicago. Last year it lost NZ$336m before tax, largely from fuel and engines.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 17h

Across the Tasman, it's a fight. In 2019, Air New Zealand and Qantas Group each had about 36% of trans-Tasman seats. By 2025, Air New Zealand had 38%, and Qantas and Jetstar had 49%. Qantas has a much bigger home market and loyalty program behind it.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 17h

At home, Air New Zealand carries about 10m passengers a year and serves 20 cities. Jetstar competes at scale on only seven trunk and Queenstown routes. Many regional routes barely support one airline.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 17h

The same isolation forces Air New Zealand to be three airlines at once: a domestic network, the main airline across the Tasman, and a long-haul carrier. Each faces different rivals, but they feed each other. Domestic flights help fill the long-haul planes out of Auckland.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 17h

Distance is what makes it creative. How do you sleep on a 17-hour flight to New York without buying business class? Skycouch turns three economy seats into a bed. Skynest will rent out six bunks in four-hour sessions. The airline calls it “win on sleep.”

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 17h

How does an airline at the end of the world, in a country of 5.3m people, survive and even thrive? It shouldn't work. Air New Zealand's answer has been to get creative: a bed in economy, and soon bunk beds on its 787s. But it's a much harder business than it looks.

Map of the Pacific showing Air New Zealand's 12 long-haul nonstop routes from Auckland, curving out to Bali, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei, Shanghai, Tokyo, Honolulu, Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, and New York. Even the closest, Bali, is about 6,700 km from Auckland.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

I think the next records will come from mid-size cities. The A321XLR lets an airline try Europe without filling a widebody, which is how Aer Lingus got to Indianapolis. One route is enough to change a state's record! Exciting times. :)

World map of all 51 state and DC records, with destination airport codes and routes colored by airline. Singapore routes are drawn to one destination at the left; New York–Singapore and West Virginia–St. Pete are emphasized. Other domestic labels are omitted for readability; all routes and destination dots remain. September 25, 2026 snapshot includes seasonal and announced service. Curves are illustrative.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

A lot of the domestic records are vacation flights. North Dakota goes to Orlando, Idaho to Honolulu, and Alabama and Mississippi to Las Vegas. Some only run part of the year. Maine gets San Francisco in summer, and Wyoming gets a Boston ski flight starting in 2027.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Rhode Island's record works the same way. Providence flies to Praia, Cape Verde, and New England has one of the biggest Cape Verdean communities anywhere. Indiana, Ohio, and Connecticut share a record-holder: Aer Lingus to Dublin.

Rhode Island’s longest flight is to Cape Verde. Eleven-state Atlantic route map with a side-column lookup table giving state, origin–destination, miles, and airline logos. Alaska and Oregon to Frankfurt; Louisiana, Tennessee, and Maryland to London; Missouri to Frankfurt; Kentucky to Paris; Indiana, Ohio, and Connecticut to Dublin; Rhode Island to Praia.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Hawaii's longest flight isn't to the mainland. It's Honolulu to Manila, 5,302 miles on Philippine Airlines. That one is about family. Filipinos are Hawaii's largest Asian group, and this is their flight home.

Hawaii’s longest flight is to Manila. Map and table show PA PHL–DOH 6,797 miles on Qatar; MN MSP–ICN 6,249 on Delta; CO DEN–IST 6,130 on Turkish; UT SLC–ICN 5,905 on Delta; and HI HNL–MNL 5,302 on Philippine Airlines. State highlights and routes use airline colors.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Emirates has Florida with Miami to Dubai, and Etihad has North Carolina with Charlotte to Abu Dhabi. Qatar does the same from Philadelphia. Each one ends at the airline's home hub, and most people on board keep going. And Qantas has Nevada: Las Vegas to Sydney. A gambling route.

Gulf airlines hold Florida and North Carolina. Airline-colored map and readable route table: MA BOS–HKG 7,968 miles, VA IAD–CPT 7,924, FL MIA–DXB 7,844, NV LAS–SYD 7,719, NC CLT–AUH 7,407, MI DTW–PVG 7,136, and AZ PHX–TPE 7,104. Table uses airline logos for Cathay Pacific, United, Emirates, Qantas, Etihad, Delta, STARLUX, and China Airlines.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Foreign airlines fly 24 of the 31 records that leave the country. Singapore Airlines holds four on its own: New York, New Jersey, California, and Washington. Qantas has Texas with DFW to Melbourne, 8,992 miles.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

For fun, I charted the longest routes from each state. The longest is New York to Singapore, 9,536 miles. The shortest is West Virginia to St. Pete, 797 miles. For 19 states and DC, the longest route is domestic.

Geographic tile board of all 50 U.S. states and DC. Every tile gives state code, longest destination city, and miles. Tiles use Asia/Pacific, Middle East/Africa, Europe/Atlantic, and U.S./Caribbean colors. Includes seasonal and announced routes from September 25, 2026.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Emirates is still the bigger, richer airline by far: $41bn of revenue to $23bn, and a 14.0% margin to 8.4%. But I think Qatar proves you don't have to be the biggest to win the premium passenger. You need a seat people want, a hub they don't mind, and partners that make switching easy.

Financial close. Qatar Airways Group net profit rose from QAR4.4bn in 2022/23 to QAR7.1bn in 2025/26, while calculated net margin rose from 5.8% to 8.4%. In FY2025/26 Qatar generated 56% of Emirates Group's revenue and 34% of its profit: $23.0bn revenue, $1.9bn profit and 8.4% margin versus $41.0bn, $5.7bn and 14.0%. Group scopes differ: Emirates includes dnata; Qatar includes cargo and subsidiaries.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Through all of it, Qatar kept paying to put its name in front of people who'd never been to Doha. It became a FIFA partner in 2017, put its name on PSG's shirts, and in 2023 took Emirates' spot as Formula 1's official airline. By then, Qatar had a seat and an airport worth showing.

Five Qatar Airways marketing photographs. Large left: the Going Places Together campaign, launched in 2015 in Times Square. Right grid: a Qatar Airways aircraft in its 2026 World Cup FIFA livery (FIFA partner since 2017); a Formula 1 race passing Qatar Airways trackside branding (official airline since 2023, taking over from Emirates); Paris Saint-Germain players wearing Qatar Airways shirts (principal partner since 2022); and Brooklyn Nets players in a Qatar Airways partnership image.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Three months later, Qatar's neighbors closed their airspace to it. Two weeks after that, Skytrax named it the world's best airline. The blockade cut 18 routes and forced longer detours. Qatar still opened 14 destinations in FY2017/18, while losing QAR252m.

Close-up map of the Gulf and Egypt. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt are shaded red; Qatar is burgundy. Eighteen dashed red routes run from Doha to the destinations closed on 5 June 2017: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Dubai World Central, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Abha, Dammam, Gassim, Hofuf, Jeddah, Medina, Riyadh, Taif, Yanbu, Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor and Bahrain. An arrow shows detours north over Iran. Side facts: 18 routes closed on 5 June 2017; 15 days later Skytrax named Qatar the world's best airline; 14 new destinations opened in FY2017/18; a QAR252 million net loss that year.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

In 2017 came Qsuite, a seat people could see, and want, before they booked. A door for solo travelers. A double bed in the center pair. A four-seat space for families or colleagues. Today 150 of Qatar's widebodies also have free Starlink for Privilege Club members.

Four Qsuite photographs. A twin-seat view shows closing doors for privacy. A center pair converted into a double bed. Four seats open into a shared space for families or colleagues. A passenger dines at a time they choose. Qsuite is available on selected aircraft.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

The fleet let Qatar chase both kinds of routes. It was launch customer for both A350 versions, but it also kept 33 A320-family aircraft. Emirates flies only widebodies and leaves smaller markets to flydubai. Qatar can sell both without handing the passenger to another airline.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

A BA or American frequent flyer didn't need to start over to fly Qatar, either. Joining oneworld in 2013 meant your miles and status worked. In 2022, Avios went further: BA members could move points into Qatar's program without paying a transfer fee.

Two-panel diagram using the British Airways, American Airlines, oneworld, Qatar Airways and Avios logos. In 2013 Qatar joined oneworld, so members of British Airways, American and 10 other airlines could earn miles and use their status on Qatar. In 2022 Avios came to Qatar, and British Airways Executive Club members could move Avios into Qatar Airways Privilege Club without a fee.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Qatar's home market is tiny, so it depends on people connecting in Doha. That made the airport part of the product. It opened a premium terminal in 2006, then Hamad in 2014. The Orchard, Al Mourjan Garden, and Al Safwa give connecting passengers somewhere to eat, work, or escape the concourse.

Airport composition centered on Hamad International Airport's Orchard indoor garden. Three supporting photographs show the Al Mourjan Garden lounge, its dining area and the Al Safwa First lounge reception. A timeline runs from Qatar's dedicated Premium Terminal in 2006 to Hamad opening in 2014 and Al Mourjan Garden in 2023.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

How do you thrive next to a much bigger neighbor? Qatar's answer: win on product. I think it might have the best in the world. Emirates made $5.7B last year to Qatar's $1.9B. But Skytrax ranked Qatar 2nd this year, 4 spots ahead of Emirates, and gave it best business class for the 13th time.

Full-width world map of Qatar Airways' 163 published summer 2026 destinations from Doha. Each route is colored by when Qatar first flew to the city: by 2009 (76), 2010 to 2014 (43), 2015 to 2016 (14), 2017 to 2019 (10), and 2020 to 2026 (20). Dubai, Emirates' hub, is marked in red just east of Doha. Airport codes label destinations across every region. Some published services may include intermediate stops; the table was checked 6 September 2026.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

My favorite ideas from today's Southwest discussion: AUS: Gatwick, Honolulu, Tokyo, Rome, and Dublin STL: Honolulu PHX: Tokyo or Taipei BWI: Dublin or Keflavík on a 737-8 Longer shots: OAK, MCI, SJC, CMH, and SMF. But fun to think about.

One continuous world map of audience suggestions selected by Adam for possible Southwest routes. Austin routes are bright blue: Gatwick, Honolulu, Tokyo Narita, Rome Fiumicino, and Dublin. St. Louis to Honolulu is red. Phoenix to Tokyo Narita or Taipei are purple alternatives. Baltimore/Washington to Dublin and Keflavík are amber, reflecting the 737-8 ideas in the accompanying post. Thin, pale lines colored by origin retain 24 earlier hypothetical ideas; BWI–Dublin is drawn once in amber. Airport codes appear in boxes beside true airport nodes. These are ideas, not announced routes.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Southwest told Reuters it has no fleet news coming, and a new aircraft type still means union deals, training, and regulatory approvals. But if it wants to fly long-haul before 2030, Norse is the fastest way I can see to get there.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

But all of them mean taking on big incumbents, and across the Pacific Southwest already hands its passengers to EVA, China Airlines, and Philippine Airlines.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

The long shots are Baltimore to Barcelona, Orlando to São Paulo and Rio, and Las Vegas to Seoul or Tokyo. Orlando to São Paulo already carries about 330 people a day on LATAM, and Korean Air carries about 240 a day between Vegas and Seoul.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

BWI is one of Southwest's biggest bases and draws on the whole DC area, and cheaper nonstops close to home tend to grow a market. I'd start with London, Paris, Dublin, and Rome.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I also think Baltimore gets routes. BWI only sends about 200 people a day to London, but that's because Washington's Europe flights leave from Dulles, which sends 1,100.

Stacked bar chart: Washington-area passengers per day each way to Europe on today's nonstops, 2025, split by Dulles and Baltimore. London 1,332 (Baltimore 200), Frankfurt 875, Paris 700, Munich 459, Dublin 423, Lisbon 384, Reykjavik 374 (Baltimore 195), Rome 351, Amsterdam 339, Barcelona 162. A dashed line at about 290 marks one daily 787 at 85 percent full. Reagan National cannot fly long-haul. Source: DOT T-100.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Then Europe, and Orlando is the obvious start. Its nonstops to London and Manchester carried about 1,560 people a day each way last year, and Norse already flies Gatwick to Orlando. Las Vegas and Denver each send about 550 a day to Heathrow.

Bar chart: passengers per day each way on today's nonstops, 2025. Picks: Orlando to London Gatwick 604, Las Vegas to London Heathrow 566, Denver to London Heathrow 553, Orlando to Manchester 498, Orlando to London Heathrow 457. Faded, routes I'd skip: Denver to Frankfurt 446, Nashville to London Heathrow 209, Las Vegas to Amsterdam 191, Orlando to Dublin 180. A dashed line at about 290 marks one daily 787 at 85 percent full. Source: DOT T-100.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

It's domestic, too, so there's no customs or foreign approvals while Southwest learns to run a widebody.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Southwest already flies about 1,100 people a day each way between Hawaii and the middle of the country, connecting through Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Oakland. That's almost four full 787s a day it could run nonstop from Denver, Dallas, or Chicago instead.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Then where do they fly? I think Hawaii is the proving ground.

Stacked bar chart: Hawaii passengers per day each way, nonstop and connecting, all U.S. airlines, July 2024 to June 2025, split by island. Las Vegas, which Southwest flies today, 1,245. Denver 634 (Honolulu 262, Maui 149, Big Island 113, Kauai 110). Dallas 506, Chicago 503, Washington-Baltimore 466, Houston 285, Austin 263. A dashed line at about 290 marks one daily 787 at 85 percent full. Source: DOT DB1B.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Southwest could buy the company or just take over the leases. Either way, it gets close to half of a 20 to 30 plane fleet years before Boeing could deliver one.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Those leases run another 7 to 12 years with no inflation adjustments, and most were signed in 2021, before widebody lease rates climbed.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Norse flies 12 leased 787-9s and has been in a formal sale or merger process since July. Five of those jets come back from IndiGo on November 1, and Norse is already shopping them to other airlines.

A Norse Atlantic Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, registration LN-FNA, on approach with landing gear down. White fuselage with blue Norse titles and a blue tail.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Southwest is leaning toward the 787 for its first widebody, Reuters reported yesterday. The problem is Boeing says the 787 is sold out through the end of the decade. So where do Southwest's first ones come from? I think Norse Atlantic.

Map of predicted Southwest 787 routes, none announced, colored by Southwest base, with an inset mockup of a Southwest 787. Thick lines are best guesses: Denver, Dallas, Chicago Midway, and Las Vegas to Honolulu; Orlando to London Gatwick and Manchester; Las Vegas and Denver to London Gatwick; Baltimore to London Gatwick, Paris, Dublin, and Rome. Thin lines are long shots: Baltimore to Barcelona, Orlando to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and Las Vegas to Seoul and Tokyo Narita.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

The biggest story in travel no one is talking about: summer is getting longer. Delta added 2 Europe routes, but also pulled 6 more into early spring. United added 60 days to Newark to Marrakech. I wrote about it here: x.com/adampnathan...

January to June timeline of six Delta Europe routes and United's Newark to Marrakech route. Darker bars show the previous season and lighter bars the added days. Delta Minneapolis and Detroit to Rome now start in early March instead of May, Seattle to Rome in April, JFK to Porto in March, and Boston and Seattle to Barcelona in April. United Newark to Marrakech now runs to late May instead of late March. Season ends are not compared.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

People are going to visit all of these cities anyway. When the destination does the selling and new hotels are hard to build, owners can charge a premium without making the stay special.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Amsterdam has a few great hotels. Rosewood, De L'Europe, and Conservatorium are reasons to go. There isn't much behind them, and rates can be startling. Rosewood opened in the old Palace of Justice in 2025 and says it's the last new hotel allowed in a monumental building there.

Exterior photograph of Rosewood Amsterdam.

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Adam Nathan @adampnathan.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Berlin is the reverse. The smaller hotels are the interesting ones. Château Royal and Telegraphenamt have the personality I want from the city. The top end is thin. For one of Europe's most important capitals, very few luxury hotels feel like they could only be in Berlin.

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