Greetings from Austin! It’s the calm before the storm in the ATX household as Mrs. ATX’s Texas Longhorns prepare to take on the Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Rivalry later this afternoon.
On the travel front, United Airlines added four new destinations in Europe for Summer 2026, the Airbus A320 overtook the Boeing 737 as the most popular passenger airliner ever, and Kyoto, Japan is preparing to raise its hotel taxes by as much as 10x. All of that and more in the ATX Jetsetter weekly recap for the week ended October 11, 2025.
In this post:
- United Adds Four New Destinations in Europe for Summer 2026
- Southwest Airlines is Launching Flights to Alaska
- The Airbus A320 Surpasses the Boeing 737 as the Best Selling Aircraft Ever
- Hawaiian Airlines is Joining OneWorld in 2026
- Kyoto is Drastically Increasing Hotel Taxes
- Trip Report: A Birthday Jaunt Across Japan
- Summary
United Adds Four New Destinations in Europe for Summer 2026
United Airlines is launching service to four new destinations in Europe for Summer 2026. These new additions come along with expanded service to Reykjavik and Seoul and the announcement that all of the carrier’s Summer 2025 seasonal routes will return for 2026.
Southwest Airlines is Launching Flights to Alaska
Southwest Airlines is launching service to Alaska for Summer 2026 with 2x daily service to Anchorage. The Dallas based carrier will operate one daily flight from both Denver and Anchorage beginning May 15 and running through at least August 3, 2026.
The Airbus A320 Surpasses the Boeing 737 as the Best Selling Aircraft Ever
With the delivery of the 12,260th aircraft, the Airbus A320 family has officially surpassed the Boeing 737 family as the best selling commercial airliner in history. Based on the current rates of production, I don’t see Boeing catching back up anytime soon.
Hawaiian Airlines is Joining OneWorld in 2026
While this doesn’t come as much of a surprise, Hawaiian Airlines is planning to officially join the OneWorld alliance in the first half of 2026. Hawaiian Airlines frequent flyers already get OneWorld perks through its combined loyalty program with Alaska Airlines so this change will mostly benefit members of other OneWorld airlines when traveling with Hawaiian.
Kyoto is Drastically Increasing Hotel Taxes
Kyoto, Japan has agreed to raise the occupancy tax on hotel guests beginning March 1, 2026. In some cases, on the most high end properties, guests could see their occupancy tax rate increase 10x over the current rate. This is all being done in an effort to curb overtourism.
Trip Report: A Birthday Jaunt Across Japan
I hope you all enjoy following along on our recent trip to Japan. We had an amazing time, even though we were traveling without ATX Jr., and will absolutely be returning to the country for another trip in the future.
Summary
While I love to travel, I’ve really been enjoying our laid back October at home. Aside from a quick road trip to Dallas later this month, I’m not going anywhere until November and it is great. As always, thank you for checking out the weekly recap for the week ended October 11, 2025!