Longboats: The longest cruise ship in the world, in context

7/13/23 8:00PM

Iconic

‍‍Royal Caribbean recently announced that its new mega cruise ship, the Icon of the Seas, passed its first round of sea trials, successfully navigating the open ocean for the first time ahead of its maiden voyage in January 2024. As far as response on social media goes, however, things haven't exactly been plain sailing.

With 20 decks, 15 bars, 2,350 crew members, space for 5,600 passengers, 7 pools, a neon-heavy color scheme, 6 “record-breaking” water slides, and a gross tonnage of 250,800, Royal Caribbean’s latest offering is either a “game changer” or a “hellish monstrosity”, depending on your perspective.

‍Longboats

‍The Icon of the Seas is just the latest instalment in Royal Caribbean's fleet of gargantuan cruise liners — the Norwegian company, which is actually based in Miami, has been leagues ahead of competitors when it comes to mega ships for years now. The company first began to pull away from the competition in the 90s with its range of Voyager Class ships, and they’ve been building them bigger ever since.

Royal Caribbean dominates the cruise liner game in terms of overall length, with ships occupying every one of the top 10 spots, and that’s not even including the Icon and its staggering 1,198ft (365 meter) span — more than double the length of the Washington Monument. The cruiser’s magnitude is hard to get your head around, but when laid flat, for example, the Eiffel Tower is a full 115ft shorter than the Icon.

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Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

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The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”

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GM has reportedly rehired more than 100 former Cruise employees, 18 months after shuttering the robotaxi unit

GM has rehired more than 100 employees it let go early last year when it shuttered Cruise, its former robotaxi business, according to reporting by The Information.

The hiring spree, which also includes employees from Nvidia and Uber, is geared toward ramping up GM’s plans for personal-use self-driving vehicles and not robotaxis. The former had been the focus of Cruise, prior to GM shuttering it in 2024.

Reporting last fall revealed that GM was attempting to rehire some former Cruise employees, but the scope of that effort wasn’t clear. More than 1,000 employees were laid off when the automaker scrapped Cruise, which it invested $10 billion into.

Google’s Waymo, Cruise’s former chief rival, is now worth $126 billion after a $16 billion funding round earlier this year. The company says it’s serving 500,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in the US.

Exclusive: With Some 100 Rehired Cruise Employees, GM Pursues Eyes-Off Autonomous Cars

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