United's Scott Kirby makes it official — the era of dirt-cheap airfares is over, a travel agency startup just hit a billion-dollar valuation by betting human taste beats AI, and JetBlue launches buy-now-pay-later flights with a catch worth reading closely.

On today's Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy breaks down why the structural changes in aviation mean the floor on airfares is permanently higher, how Fora Travel built a billion-dollar business by recruiting people who love travel rather than people who work in it, and what JetBlue's new flight financing product gets right and where it gets complicated.

Articles Referenced: Honorable Mention: @AskAConcierge on IG
Higher Fares Are Here to Stay, United CEO Says
Fora Travel: The Unicorn. It Raised $60 Million at a $1 Billion Valuation.
JetBlue Loyalty Points BNPL Flight Financing ClarityPay

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.