• Sarah Israel, 40, found boxes of McDonald’s memorabilia from the ’70s and ’80s.
• Her dad, a McDonald’s executive, collected pins, a burger lamp, and branded items.
• She felt nostalgic, and thousands online shared the same reaction.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sarah Israel. It has been edited for length and clarity.

My dad has always been a collector. It was like a primal need of his, collecting.

Ever since I can remember, he would take my siblings and me to yard sales, flea markets, and garage sales. I hated it and begged him to stop taking us along to look at garbage. I wanted to go to the movies, not talk to vendors at flea markets about what they had on offer.

Although he collected anything and everything, or at least that’s what it felt like, he only displayed his music. His records were all out in our music room. He had thousands of vinyl records and CDs.

Almost everything else was just stored away in boxes in the basement: salt-and-pepper shakers, vintage shoes, and rooster figurines galore. This might have been a decision influenced by my mom, who hated clutter.

I helped my parents downsize

We didn’t know the extent of what he had collected until recently, when all of us siblings have been helping my parents downsize. We went into the basement and slowly started opening boxes, one by one, not sure of what we would find.

I opened a box, then a few more, all of which had McDonald’s collectibles. My dad had been an executive with McDonald’s for years in the 80s. He started as an assistant store manager here in Canada and eventually became the Training Director for the Canadian market, a role that involved lots of travel to the US for conferences. In the mid-80s, he moved to Paris to work as the Training Director for the European market, 19 countries in all, before finally settling back in Montreal in a role at the head office.

Throughout his years working for McDonald’s, my dad had picked up various items along the way. Things that were very specific to wherever he was. There were Happy Meal toys, clocks, watches, mugs, clothing, a voice note recorder, and lots of pins.

As I sorted through the boxes, all the memories came back to life of my childhood, the years before life became complicated. Life then was so simple, and waves of nostalgia washed over me as I held each item. These memories that had been tucked away in the recesses of my mind suddenly came back to the front and center.

People online were really into my dad’s collection

It wasn’t only me who felt this way; I found out all too quickly. As a seller of vintage items, I started making videos on social media about what I’d found.

The response was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, and I’m sure it’s because I hit on this tender spot in millennials — this time in life when the most exciting thing was wondering what toy you’d get in your Happy Meal. The world’s landscape right now is really challenging, and I think people just want to lean into nostalgia, into a period in history when things didn’t feel quite so difficult.

Even though I have loved looking at the McDonald’s collectibles, I’ve decided to sell nearly all of them. I’ve looked at things one at a time, consciously appreciated them, and then moved on to the next thing. It’s hard to do, but it makes me happy to think about all these items in their new homes, being enjoyed by their new owners for years to come.

I won’t pretend it’s easy, though, because these McDonald’s items aren’t only a reminder of my own history, but also that of my dad’s. They remind me of who my dad once was and what he did for all those years while we were young children. And now I have to assign a monetary value to them so I can sell them.

I’ve decided to keep a few things, some pins from when my parents were in Paris, but I’ll be selling the rest.

I’m excited that people will buy their favorite items and will be so excited to display them. The collectible that has received the most attention is the burger lamp. It makes me feel good to know that the lamp, alongside all the other items, won’t be hidden away in boxes any longer.

• Redfin and Glassdoor identified the 10 best big cities for this year’s college graduates.
• Each city was ranked across metrics related to housing, career opportunities, and quality of life.
• Texas has more cities on the list than any other state, with three in the top 10.

Graduation season is upon us, and while this year’s graduates have much to celebrate, they’re also entering adulthood under significant financial pressure.

They have more student loan debt than previous generations, face an unforgiving job market, and are trying to navigate a housing market where high prices and mortgage rates have made homeownership feel unaffordable.

Where graduates choose to live after graduation could make a big difference, and a new report from Redfin and Glassdoor could help with their decision. The companies ranked 10 major metros using 13 indicators related to housing affordability, career opportunities, and urban quality of life.

Across all states, the ranking suggests Texas is a standout destination for college grads. Three of its largest cities — Dallas, Houston, and Austin — round out the top 10. Redfin and Glassdoor highlighted their strong job markets and relatively affordable rent for recent grads.

“These cities in Texas do great on all metrics: robust job markets, good amenities, and relatively affordable housing,” Asad Khan, a senior economist with Redfin, told Business Insider. “Strong housing supply growth in Texas has been key to allowing these cities to grow and attract young professionals from high-cost states around the country.”

“The strong industry mix also makes these cities more resilient and attractive to a wide range of early career workers,” Khan added.

Read on to find out which other cities made the cut. Here are the 10 best big cities for this year’s graduates, according to Redfin and Glassdoor.

10. Austin

• Average early-career earnings: $72,025
• Price of typical starter home: $276,600
• Years to save for down payment: 4 years, 1 months
• Monthly mortgage payment as percent of income: 30.3%
• Monthly rent as percent of income: 35%

9. Miami

• Average early-career earnings: $62,748
• Price of typical starter home: $210,000
• Years to save for down payment: 3 years, 11 months
• Monthly mortgage payment as percent of income: 26.4%
• Monthly rent as percent of income: 33%

8. San Diego

• Average early-career earnings: $74,053
• Price of typical starter home: $615,000
• Years to save for down payment: More than 10 years
• Monthly mortgage payment as percent of income: 65.4%
• Monthly rent as percent of income: 64%

7. St. Louis

• Average early-career earnings: $61,834
• Price of typical starter home: $150,000
• Years to save for down payment: 2 years, 7 months
• Monthly mortgage payment as percent of income: 19.1%
• Monthly rent as percent of income: 23%

6. Houston

• Average early-career earnings: $65,369
• Price of typical starter home: $215,000
• Years to save for down payment: 3 years, 7 months
• Monthly mortgage payment as percent of income: 25.9%
• Monthly rent as percent of income: 18%

5. Chicago

• Average early-career earnings: $72,786
• Price of typical starter home: $202,000
• Years to save for down payment: 3 years
• Monthly mortgage payment as percent of income: 21.9%
• Monthly rent as percent of income: 28%

4. Dallas

• Average early-career earnings: $67,451
• Price of typical starter home: $240,000
• Years to save for down payment: 4 years, 1 month
• Monthly mortgage payment as percent of income: 28%
• Monthly rent as percent of income: 26%

3. Boston

• Average early-career earnings: $80,026
• Price of typical starter home: $460,000
• Years to save for down payment: 6 years, 8 months
• Monthly mortgage payment as percent of income: 45.3%
• Monthly rent as percent of income: 53%

2. Omaha

• Average early-career earnings: $59,123
• Price of typical starter home: $195,000
• Years to save for down payment: 3 years, 8 months
• Monthly mortgage payment as percent of income: 26%
• Monthly rent as percent of income: 28%

1. Washington, D.C.

• Average annual early-career earnings: $79,857
• Price of typical starter home: $320,000
• Years to save for down payment: 4 years, 2 months
• Monthly mortgage payment as percent of income: 31.6%
• Monthly rent as percent of income: 34%

• I’ve been unemployed for seven months, and I’m debating if getting a master’s degree would help.
• I know that a master’s doesn’t protect you from unemployment, but maybe I should expand my skills.
• I’m not sure if I will go back to school, but it would relieve some of my anxiety.

A few years back, when ChatGPT first became available, the hype got loud, and one of my freelance clients was shouting the loudest. He called me one afternoon and declared that paying writers was a thing of the past, as this new technology could do in five minutes what all his freelance writers could do in a month.

“You should have picked a different profession,” he said. He fired me a few months later.

I’ve been thinking about that interaction a lot lately, especially after seven months of unsuccessful job hunting. Countless hours of filling out applications have led to 10 interviews and zero job offers.

It’s got me wondering if, at age 45, I’ve somehow bottomed out of the job market. And if my skills have become irrelevant, I may go back to school.

How I got to this questioning place

A few months back, I had an interview for an administrative job at a state college. In addition to the pay and benefits, the prospective employers noted the job would include the ability to take six credit hours of college courses per semester once the probation period had ended. So, at six credit hours per semester over three semesters, I’d be able to complete a 36-credit-hour master’s program in two years. It didn’t seem like a bad path forward, assuming I got accepted to a program.

But my post-undergraduate plan never included a master’s. I wanted to get a job as a writer, and I did that with only a BA. For 20-plus years, my BA worked for both my primary and side-hustle careers.

I dismissed graduate school as another long-term financial burden that would never pay for itself.

Still, the idea of a master’s always had merit. Many of my friends and colleagues have at least a master’s degree in something, and for years, none of them seemed to be hurting for work or opportunities. My wife went back to night school in her 30s for two years to become a teacher, so maybe a similar path would be best for me, too.

I doubt another degree would help

To be honest, the desire to go back to school has less to do with being Step 1 in my mid-life career reinvigoration plan and more with the need for anything that will address my anxieties and uncertainties about the current job market.

Maybe going back to school would help me twofold: relieve my anxiety and help expand my skills.

But as has been shown over the last two years, higher education degrees and job-specific training do not make anyone immune to downsizing or job loss in the current economy. I know this because too many of my own friends and colleagues have been negatively impacted by the current economy. DOGE came for some of them, tariffs came for others, and their education and experience didn’t seem to count for much.

Turns out my old client was wrong; we all should have chosen a different profession.

I’m moving forward

Ultimately, I think the decision to pursue higher education works best when the person has a plan or wants to expand their existing skill set. I’m not sure I’m that person.

Going back to school for a master’s probably won’t solve my long-term unemployment problem.

But I’m still thinking about it. I should probably make a decision soon, though, because now I’m getting ads to join the Peace Corps in my feed. That’s going to make it hard to pick up the kids from school.

• “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County” premiered in September 2004.
• It aired three seasons on MTV, launching stars like Lauren Conrad, Kristin Cavallari, and Stephen Colletti.
• Here’s where the cast members are today.

As the great Hilary Duff once sang, “Let’s go back, back to the beginning …”

The year was 2004, and “Laguna Beach” had just premiered on MTV, drawing immediate buzz. The show focused on a group of high school friends at Laguna Beach High School and promised to show the world what “real” high schoolers in Orange County were like, not like the 20-somethings on “The OC.”

The show lasted for three seasons, launched three spin-offs (“The Hills,” “The City,” and “The Hills: New Beginnings”), and created stars out of its teenage cast. It set the standard for a new type of high-gloss reality show.

However, while Conrad, Colletti, Cavallari, and Bosworth are still relatively well-known, the rest of the cast have resumed a normal life.

In 2026, many of the stars from the first season met up to film a true high school reunion, which dropped on the Roku Channel in April.

Here’s what the stars of “Laguna Beach” are up to now.

Lauren Conrad was the first narrator of “Laguna Beach” and the show’s relatable protagonist.

The first season of “Laguna Beach” documented the end of Conrad’s senior year of high school and followed her and her friends as they decided what to do after graduation.

A focus of the first season was the love triangle between Conrad, her friend Stephen Colletti, and Colletti’s girlfriend Kristin Cavallari. 

Season two followed Conrad as she dropped out of college and began dating Jason Wahler. Their relationship was explored further in the first season of “The Hills.” 

Conrad went on to star in “The Hills” for five seasons. Now, she’s a married mom of two with her own lifestyle empire.

Conrad, 40, was the star of “The Hills,” which documented her and a new group of friends as they followed their dreams in Los Angeles. But she left the show midway through the fifth season to pursue other projects.

Now, she has a fashion empire at Kohl’s. She’s also written multiple books in the fiction and non-fiction genres.

Conrad is married to William Tell, a lawyer, and they have two sons. They live in, you guessed it, Laguna Beach.

Kristin Cavallari was the show’s other breakout star, and she became the narrator after Conrad left “Laguna.”

Cavallari was a grade behind Conrad and her friends, and thus season two was all about Cavallari graduating, as well as her complicated relationship with Colletti, who was in school in San Francisco.

She left the show after season two.

She told Business Insider in 2022 that producers chose her to be the villain of the series.

Cavallari took over for Conrad on “The Hills,” and then starred in her own reality show, “Very Cavallari.” She also has her own lifestyle brand.

Cavallari, 39, was reintroduced to audiences when the torch essentially passed from Conrad to Cavallari during Conrad’s last episode of “The Hills.”

During season five’s episode 10, “Something Old, Something New,” Cavallari attended the wedding of Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt then remained on “The Hills” until it ended in 2010.

In 2018, Cavallari began starring on her own reality show on E!, “Very Cavallari,” which focused on her life in Nashville with her now-ex-husband Jay Cutler, and her efforts to expand her lifestyle brand, Uncommon James. The show ran for three seasons.

Cavallari was married to former Chicago Bears quarterback Cutler from 2013 to 2020, and they have three children together. She lives in Nashville.

She has also written two cookbooks, and Uncommon James recently expanded to Uncommon Beauty, as well. 

She and Colletti cohosted “Back to the Beach with Kristin and Stephen,” a “Laguna Beach” rewatch podcast from 2022 to 2023.

Stephen Colletti was the object of both Conrad’s and Cavallari’s affections.

Colletti was the prototypical California surfer dude during the first two seasons of the show. Most of his storylines revolved around his on-again/off-again relationship with Cavallari. He also had a close friendship with Conrad that constantly seemed to be on the verge of something more, though nothing ever happened on-screen. 

He left after season two.

Colletti is now an actor and writer, but he still dabbles in reality TV.

Colletti, 40, began starring in “One Tree Hill” in 2007 as Chase Adams and remained on the show until it ended in 2012. He then appeared in a few episodes of the basketball drama “Hit the Floor” until 2016. He has also appeared in various TV movies.

Colletti and his “One Tree Hill” costar James Lafferty also co-wrote and co-starred in a pilot called “Everyone Is Doing Great.” They successfully funded the project with a Kickstarter, and it ran for two seasons.

He told Business Insider in 2022 that he was asked to be a recurring cast member on “The Hills” every season. He declined, but he did appear in episode 26 of season three. The episode was aptly titled “A Date with the Past.” 

In January 2026, Colletti returned to his reality TV roots by competing on season four of “The Traitors,” even if he did outrage every millennial by identifying as a star of “One Tree Hill,” not “Laguna Beach.”

Colletti began dating reporter Alex Weaver in 2022, and they got married shortly before the reunion special aired. They’re also expecting their first child together.

Jason Wahler popped up in season two as Jessica Smith’s boyfriend. He later dated Lauren Conrad.

Wahler originally appeared on the show as Jessica Smith’s boyfriend, though their relationship was full of ups and downs. After Conrad returned to Laguna Beach, the two began dating, and their relationship lasted through the first season of “The Hills.”

He was a recurring character in the series, and the show touched on his struggles with addiction. 

Wahler returned to MTV to appear on “The Hills: New Beginnings.”

Wahler, 39, was part of the cast of the rebooted “Hills,” alongside his wife, Ashley Slack. They have three children.

Before that, Wahler was part of the cast of the fourth season of “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew,” as he was an alcoholic and addicted to cocaine. He had been arrested multiple times before his appearance and has served jail time. He opened up about relapsing in 2018, per People.

Wahler is also the director of the Change Your Brain Foundation.

He did not appear on the “Laguna Beach” reunion.

Jessica Smith was one of Cavallari’s good friends, and she dated both Wahler and Dieter Schmitz.

Smith was the long-suffering girlfriend of Wahler, but the two eventually broke up after one too many fights about how she couldn’t trust Wahler during season two.

She had also dated Schmitz, one of Conrad’s friends, during season one.

Now, she’s Jessica Evans.

Evans, 38, is a mom of four. She and her husband, Michael Evans, live in the Dallas area. She has her own Amazon shop, but she has mainly stayed out of the spotlight since completing her time on the show. 

Lo Bosworth was Conrad’s best friend. She eventually popped up on “The Hills,” as well.

Bosworth and Conrad, or Lo and LC as they were nicknamed on the series, were the definition of BFF goals to any teen watching “Laguna Beach.” 

Bosworth also left the show after season two to attend UC Santa Barbara, but when she transferred to UCLA, she joined her bestie on “The Hills.”

She was more of a main character on that spin-off and was involved in many of its most dramatic moments. 

Bosworth remained on “The Hills” until the end. She founded a women’s body-care company, Love Wellness.

After “The Hills” ended, Bosworth, 39, started her own blog, “The Lo Down,” which she ran for years, and wrote a book of the same name in 2011. She also attended culinary school and started her own YouTube channel.

Bosworth hosted a podcast called “I Love Wellness,” and now hosts another one called “Tell Me I’m a Good Mom.”

In 2016, Bosworth founded Love Wellness, a women’s body care company that aims to “shatter the stigma around women’s wellness so that you have solutions you are comfortable with.” It offers supplements, multivitamins, sexual health items, and various wellness kits.

She married Dom Natale, an investor, in 2025.

Bosworth attended the reunion virtually because she was seven months pregnant at the time of filming and is based in New York City. Her daughter, Nelle, was born in January 2026.

Talan Torriero was the show’s resident ladies’ man in seasons one and two.

Torriero was a junior in season one, making him younger than most of the cast, but he was pretty consistently hooking up with older girls. He also briefly dated Cavallari, but it didn’t last long as she was still hung up on Colletti.

He left after season two.

Torriero is now married with children.

Before he got married, the former reality star, 39, remained in the headlines for dating celebrities like Kimberly Stewart and Nicole Scherzinger. However, he married Danielle Zuroski in 2014, putting his party boy past behind him. They have three children.

He and his wife now own and operate a farm, Torriero Farms, in Omaha, Nebraska. He also founded the company Ice Blankets.

Torriero attended the reunion.

Trey Phillips was the token artsy friend.

Phillips, 39, was good friends with Colletti and the other guys, though he had a special bond with Conrad. Phillips famously put on a fashion show that Conrad also used as a way to break into the fashion game.

Phillips left the show after season one to attend Parsons in New York City.

Phillips still works in the fashion industry.

Phillips was a designer at Vera Wang for years, but now he’s an app developer. He created a cooking app called Method Cooking.

He expanded on his experiences on the show during “Back to the Beach with Kristin and Stephen,” and he also attended the reunion.

Jen Bunney was one of Conrad’s good friends who would later pop up on “The Hills.”

Bunney didn’t really make an impression until she showed up on “The Hills,” and memorably hooked up with Brody Jenner even though Conrad had been on a few dates with him — and right after Conrad gifted Bunney with a diamond martini glass-shaped necklace for her birthday.

As a result, the two stopped being friends on the show.

The storyline was juicy, but Jenner said it was completely fake in a 2015 interview with Yahoo Style. 

Bunney, now Dunphy, works in healthcare. She has an MBA and a doctorate in public health.

She married Taylor Dunphy in 2014 and now goes by Jennifer Dunphy. They have two kids together.

According to her LinkedIn, Dunphy, 40, was the senior vice president and chief population health officer at Heritage Provider Network from 2014 to January 2026.

In 2023, she published a book, “Don’t Tell Me What to Do.”

Dunphy also remains close with “Hills” star Heidi Montag and is even the godmother to Montag’s son, Gunner.

When fans asked Dunphy why she wasn’t part of the “Laguna” reunion, she had a simple answer: She wasn’t invited. “I don’t know [why]. I can’t answer that question. I wasn’t in the room,” she told People.

Morgan Olsen, one of Conrad’s good friends, was mainly defined by her desire to attend Brigham Young University.

Olsen was part of Conrad’s friend group, although she was a bit more conservative than the rest of her friends, as evidenced by her decision not to go to Cabo for spring break and her desire to attend Brigham Young University (BYU), a Mormon school. She graduated in 2008.

She left “Laguna Beach” after season one.

She now goes by Morgan Smith. She founded her own apparel brand, Minnow.

She married Joel Smith in 2010, and the couple has three children together. Smith, 40, founded Minnow in 2016. It originally started as a swimwear line, but has since added clothing and accessories, as well as a brick-and-mortar store on King Street in Charleston, South Carolina, where she lives with her family.

Christina Schuller was Olsen’s best friend and part of the main friend group.

Schuller was also part of Conrad’s group of friends, though she and Olsen were closer to each other than the rest of the group. Her main contribution to “Laguna Beach,” though, was her infamous trip to New York City when she tried out for a Broadway musical.

Schuller left the show after season one.

Schuller now goes by her married name, Sinclair.

Sinclair, 39, moved to Miami with her husband, Chad Sinclair, and their three kids in 2022. She’s still close friends with Morgan Smith — in fact, they were bridesmaids in each other’s weddings.

During the reunion, Sinclair opened up about mental health struggles she had during her senior year of college and discussed being in and out of hospitals for a year.

“I really wanted to talk about something meaningful, and so I spent a lot of time praying and reflecting on what that would look like,” she told People. “It’s a part of my life that was important, and I think a lot of people can relate in some way or another. I wanted to share something meaningful.”

Dieter Schmitz was one of Conrad and Colletti’s best friends and was frequently the voice of reason among his friends.

Schmitz appeared in both seasons one and two with the title of “Stephen’s Friend.” Schmitz was one of the few cast members in a stable relationship during season one, with Jessica Smith — though the two wouldn’t last into season two.

Schmitz had a “Laguna Beach” reunion at his wedding.

Schmitz, 40, got into hospitality after leaving the show and now lives in New York City with his wife Isabell. They have two kids.

According to his LinkedIn, Schmitz is a general manager at Accor, a French hospitality group.

When he married his wife in 2016, many members of the “Laguna Beach” cast were present, including Conrad, Colletti, and Phillips (the latter two were groomsmen for their friend).

Alex Hooser, better known as Alex H., was a loyal friend.

Hooser is one of two cast members who stuck around for the first three seasons of “Laguna Beach,” along with Jessica Smith.

She was portrayed as a loyal friend to Kristin Cavallari — though at some points it did seem like her only lines of dialogue on the show were asking about Cavallari’s relationship status.

Hooser is Alex Olsen now. She opened up at the reunion about her family’s struggles during the show.

Hooser, 39, lives in Santa Cruz, California, with her husband and three kids. During the reunion, she discussed how, while filming the first season, her father was arrested, sent to prison, and eventually put on house arrest after making what she called “poor financial decisions.”

Similar to Smith’s Amazon shop, Hooser has a Shop My where people can buy products she’s curated.

• Jet fuel costs and supplies across the globe are under pressure from the US and Israeli war on Iran.
• Some major airlines are canceling flights in response.
• One airline exec described fuel prices as his business’s most serious challenge.

First, the war made flights more expensive. Now, it’s making them disappear.

The US and Israel’s war on Iran has disrupted supply chains, trapping oil in storage facilities across the Middle East.

That saw the price of Brent crude oil rocket past $100 a barrel in early March, before dipping back below that benchmark once ceasefire talks began this month. On Friday, the price was at $92.42 when markets closed.

Jet fuel prices have risen even faster, doubling in price to almost $200 a barrel. And as the war drags on, jet fuel is getting harder to come by for countries that don’t produce it or have limited supplies.

“In Europe, we have maybe six weeks or so (of) jet fuel left,” the International Energy Agency’s executive director, Fatih Birol, told the Associated Press on Thursday.

He added that, if the Strait of Hormuz isn’t opened, there would then be flight cancellations due to fuel shortages.

Several airlines have already canceled flights or grounded airplanes due to rising costs.

June Goh, a senior oil market analyst at Sparta Commodities, said in a post on X that jet fuel requires specialized storage, which means less is stored than for other products, like gasoline.

“Travel has gotten a lot more expensive in Asia, with many airlines adding fuel surcharges or downright canceling flights,” she wrote. “Europe is facing imminent jet fuel supply shortages. Brace yourselves.”

Here’s a look at some of the airlines that have already started canceling flights due to rising prices and falling supplies.

European airlines

Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, said it is considering reducing routes.

CEO Michael O’Leary said its jet fuel supply could be at risk if the war continues during an interview with Sky News.

“We don’t expect any disruption until early May, but if the war continues, we do run the risk of supply disruptions in Europe in May and June,” he said.

KLM said on April 17 that it was canceling 80 return flights from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, its main base.

It added that these routes were “no longer financially viable to operate” due to rising kerosene costs. The airline also clarified that there was no kerosene shortage.

The same day, Germany’s Lufthansa announced that it was retiring dozens of aircraft ahead of schedule due to rising jet fuel prices and the impact of labor disputes.

Most of the airplanes are Canadair CRJ aircraft, as it shuts down its loss-making regional subsidiary Lufthansa CityLine.

Switzerland’s Edelweiss Air also said it was canceling flights to the US, due to declining demand and rising fuel prices. It will no longer fly to Denver or Seattle, and will reduce the frequency of flights to Las Vegas.

A spokesperson for Scandinavian Airlines said that it would cut about 1,000 flights in April due to the surge in jet fuel costs.

They added that most of the canceled flights were on short-haul routes in the Nordic region, at airports with multiple daily flights.

Asian airlines

Several airlines in Asia said they would cut flights to mitigate fuel shortages and mounting costs.

Vietnam Airlines suspended seven domestic flight routes beginning April 1, a local state-run newspaper reported, according to Reuters. The outlet reported that Vietnam Airlines planned to slash flight volume by 10% to 20% a month over the next financial quarter if jet fuel prices rise to $160 to $200 per barrel.

Other local airlines, including Vietjet Air and Bamboo Airways, will also cut flights.

AirAsia said it has cut 10% of its flights and raised fares to curb the impact of rising fuel costs. The Malaysian low-cost carrier, which flies to 25 countries, added that it would cut capacity on routes where it couldn’t cover fuel costs.

At a media briefing on April 6, CEO Bo Lingam said the fuel surcharge has risen up to 20%, and overall ticket prices have risen 30% to 40%.

Lingam said its jet fuel had risen from $90 per barrel before the war to $200 per barrel, describing this as the airline’s most serious challenge.

United Airlines

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a March memo to staff that the company would cut flights over the next two quarters.

“In the short term, that means tactically pruning flying that’s temporarily unprofitable in the face of high oil prices,” Kirby said.

The airline planned to cancel some off-peak flights and red-eyes.

“If prices stayed at this level, it would mean an extra $11 billion in annual expense just for jet fuel,” Kirby said in a message to employees posted on the company’s website. “For perspective, in United’s best year ever, we made less than $5B.”

Delta Air Lines

Delta hasn’t officially announced any flight cuts due to fuel prices; the oil refinery it owns in Pennsylvania has given it a buffer during the crisis.

“It’s not going to cover the crack entirely, but gives us a fairly significant hedge,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said at a March JP Morgan conference.

Delta is cutting its seasonal Los Angeles to Anchorage route this summer, telling Business Insider that it “adjusts its schedule to align with customer demand.” Alaska Airlines will be the sole operator on that route.

Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand said it would cut about 5% its flights, or about 1,100, at the start of May.

“We’re focused on consolidating flights that are off-peak flying hours, for example, or where there is an alternative that we can re-accommodate customers,” CEO Nikhil Ravishankar told 1News, a local outlet, in March.

Air Canada

Air Canada said it will suspend certain routes starting in late May due to rising jet fuel costs.

“Jet fuel prices have doubled since the start of the Iran conflict, affecting some lower profitability routes and flights which now are no longer economically feasible,” the company’s statement said. “Schedule adjustments including some frequency reductions are being made in response.”

The route suspensions will impact certain domestic Canadian, transborder, and international flights.

• President Trump criticized Mayor Zohran Mamdani over a proposed tax on rich second-homeowners.
• Mamdani said he’s not shocked by Trump’s remarks, given their “deep policy differences.”
• The pair’s working relationship has fluctuated between chummy and combative since NYC’s mayoral race.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s charm over President Donald Trump may be waning.

Trump lashed out at Mamdani on Thursday over a proposed tax targeting New York City’s ultra-wealthy. Governor Kathy Hochul has also backed the tax.

“Sadly, Mayor Mamdani is DESTROYING New York! It has no chance! The United States of America should not contribute to its failure,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “It will only get WORSE. The TAX, TAX, TAX Policies are SO WRONG. People are fleeing. They must change their ways, AND FAST. History has proven, THIS “STUFF” JUST DOESN’T WORK.”

The proposed pied-à-terre tax — introduced on Wednesday — would affect wealthy residents who own secondary properties in New York City valued over $5 million but live elsewhere. In a press release, the New York City Mayor’s Office said the tax is expected to generate $500 million in annual revenue, helping close the city’s budget gap.

The tax would directly affect billionaires such as Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and Trump.

“The measure targets ultrawealthy out-of-city residents and global elites who use New York City real estate as a vehicle for wealth storage rather than as homes,” a press release said.

Mamdani acknowledged Trump’s remarks about him and the tax during a press conference on Friday, saying he wasn’t surprised.

“It’s not a surprise given the fact that the president and I have many deep policy differences, and I am not shy about airing them both publicly and privately,” Mamdani said.

Mamdani told reporters their differences in opinion “will continue.”

“The thing we have in common is that we’re both New Yorkers,” he said. “When I speak to the president, I always bring it back to the city and what I think will help the city.”

Since emerging as a serious contender in the New York City mayoral race, Trump and Mandani’s working relationship has fluctuated. Trump initially criticized Mamdani and his policies, but warmed to the mayor during an in-person Oval Office meeting last November.

During that meeting, Trump heaped praise on Mamdani, calling him “rational” and telling conservative critics they may be surprised by his leadership. He even told reporters he’d feel comfortable living in Mamdani’s New York City.

Still, though, Trump isn’t fully pleased with Mamdani’s policies.

“I mean, he’s a nice guy. Calls me all the time, says hi, but his policies are no good,” Trump said during an event earlier this week. “He’s chasing people out and causing a lot of harm to everybody. I mean, everybody’s taxes are going through the roof.”