Travel’s New Access Divide
Sep 11, 2026 · 41 min · 11 segments
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko reflect on 25 years since 9/11 and how the attacks reshaped modern travel, from TSA and airport security to PreCheck, Clear, and the airport gate experience. They also…
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko reflect on 25 years since 9/11 and how the attacks reshaped modern travel, from TSA and airport security to PreCheck, Clear, and the airport gate experience. They also discuss why New York City hotels are so expensive in September, how peak-demand “compression nights” drive hotel pricing, and what Sarah’s experience using Instinct reveals about the next phase of AI-powered travel booking. This episode is brought to you by ZS **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. 00:00 Remembering 9/11 01:04 Seth’s 9/11 Story 04:22 How Flying Changed 08:40 Travel Resilience Data 11:12 Airlines Consolidate 15:08 NYC Travel Now 17:48 Hotel Rates Explained 23:12 Instinct AI Agent 28:05 Reservation Wars 33:36 Winners and Losers 39:42 Wrap Up and Plug
Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko reflect on 25 years since 9/11 and how the attacks reshaped modern travel, from TSA and airport security to PreCheck, Clear, and the airport gate experience. They also…
