Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel Industry News: January 28, 2013

I didn’t learn about this until yesterday and was very saddened to hear of the loss of fellow aviation geek and editor of NYCAviation.com, Matthew Molnar. The New York Times ran a very respectful article yesterday (linked above) of his passing noting his incredible passion for aviation.
Delta Air Lines will debut outdoor terrace ‘Sky Decks’ at its Sky Club lounges in Atlanta and New York’s JFK. I’ll certainly be buying a day-pass my next time through ATL or JFK after they open to take in the #avgeek beauty and inhale a few Jet A fumes.
The Northeast was particularly hard-hit by flight cancellations today as a winter storm moved through the area. More than 1,000 flights were cancelled today according to FlightAware.com as of this posting.
A Hawaii tax judge has ruled online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Expedia, Priceline and Travelocity owe $150 million in taxes to Hawaii. The ruling states the OTAs should have paid hotel taxes based on the retail rates they sold the rooms to clients for, not the wholesale rates they are charged by the hotels. I’m a bit surprised such tax language and requirements aren’t spelled out clearly in the agreements between OTAs and hotels, if that’s indeed the case.
Air France is looking to launch a new regional airline named HOP! beginning this summer. The carrier will reportedly serve short- and medium-haul routes in France and throughout Europe with 530 daily flights to 136 destinations.