Hudson News Self-Checkout Meltdown: The Airport Kiosk That Makes You Want To Miss Your Flight [Roundup]

News and notes from around the interweb:

• An airport passenger is trying to use self-checkout at a Hudson News. And the kiosk sure fells broken. The touchscreen lags, taps “stack,” and the checkout flow is bloated with extra prompts (bags, loyalty sign-in, charity round-up) before you can even pay.

  Guys how has Hudson News not hired an HBS grad to tell them that their POS system is insane. pic.twitter.com/m5g3xCleNh

  — Olivia Reingold (@Olivia_Reingold) December 3, 2025

  Hudson has described modernizing its point of sale system across 1,000 stores with a unified platform. They’re even a vendor’s case study as though this is something to be proud of.

  The interface is overoptimized for data capture and add-ons, slowing down transactions and taxing the customer. But if you want a bottle of water before your flight, and Hudson News is at your gate, you’re already there… you’re probably not walking away over it. And even if you’re frustrated, there are passengers on the next flight to sell to. Meanwhile, Orlando airport will shutter its 6 Hudson News locations in favor of a new operator.

• St. Regis is now a conversion brand. “The idea is that the St. Regis Estates brand will usher in “privacy, authenticity, and a deeper emotional connection to place,” and… the first property is a 200+ room hotel in Newport Beach?” Either it’s just about Marriott’s quest for ‘net rooms growth’ over everything else, or that owners need a brand carveout so that they don’t have to honor standard elite benefits? We’ll see.

• Alaska Airlines will be leasing slots from American Airlines for its new Seattle – London service. American had flown Seattle – London as part of their ‘West Coast Alliance’ with Alaska. But Alaska is not part of the American-British Airways transatlantic joint venture. So American’s willingness to give up flying a Heathrow frequency is notable.

  Alaska Airlines to lease 14x weekly slots (7a, 7d) from American Airlines at London Heathrow in Summer 2026 (from 22 May 2026)

  Daily flights from Seattle to London Heathrow will commence 21 May 2026 (landing 22 May 2026) on Boeing 787-9 aircraft

  On sale imminently pic.twitter.com/yBNp4wVSO3

  — Sean M ✈ (@SeanM1997) December 4, 2025

• Treat yourself! ‘Perfect’ private jet flights for the masses take off — leather seats and no TSA checkpoints for as little as $149 I think that oversells JSX a bit, though I’d certainly fly them over any of the major airlines in a heartbeat. Indeed, I chose them over American when I was a ConciergeKey. Private means flying at your own convenience, not on someone else’s schedule. This is flying on a schedule out of private terminals, with all first class seating, free drinks and bags, and Starlink wifi.

  

  

• People are wearing pajamas to airports to protest Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s insistence that we stop wearing PJs and slippers to the airport

  @gretagretagretagreta please why is the government concerned about our loungewear at the airport ? #travel #thanksgiving ♬ original sound – Fox4News