Travel Dispatch: Would You Shower at the Airport?
Or sleep in a bunk-bed-style pod aboard your flight?
Travel Dispatch
May 13, 2026

There’s plenty of change afoot in the world of airports and airlines as they adapt to emerging technologies, economic and global pressures and fierce competition. Depending on your outlook, you might find these updates in the terminal and in your cabin quirky, convenient or a little dystopian.

Here are some newer developments and trends you may have missed.

Article Image

Liam Cobb

You don’t have to be filthy rich to enjoy an airport shower

A crowd of people wait at an airport's baggage carousel for their luggage.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Baggage fees are up. Here’s how to avoid them.

A series of four sleeping pods illuminated with purple light. The pods are arranged like bunk beds, with one on top of the other, and each of them has a pillow and a folded-up dark blanket.

Gabe Castro-Root/The New York Times

Are these bunk-bed-style sleeping pods the future of economy air travel?

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Tim Cook

At check-in, your face is increasingly your ID

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