Raphael Stevens

Fares between the U.S. and Europe are low even for the slower late-fall and winter months.
The drop comes as airlines have added service in recent years to cater to post-pandemic travel demand.

A tourist takes a photo as the Acropolis’ Propylaea are seen in the background, in Athens, Greece, on June 28, 2024.
Elias Marcou | Reuters

Flights between the U.S. and Europe have not been this cheap in three years, when many countries were just lifting Covid-19 era rules.
Fares are low even for the traditionally slow late-fall and winter months outside of major holidays.

“It is brutal to fill seats during these times of year,” said Brett Snyder, who writes the Cranky Flier travel industry site.
According to flight-tracking company Hopper, “good deal” fares across the Atlantic to Europe are averaging $578 in November, down from $619 a year earlier.
It is the lowest deal fare for this month since 2021, when they were going for $479 and much of international travel was in a slump because of the pandemic, Hopper data shows.
In January, after the year-end holidays, 2025 fares are even lower: $558 compared to $578 for the same month in 2024, though higher than $488 in January 2022, according to Hopper.
U.S. domestic airfare, on the other hand, is more expensive compared with last year in every month from November through March.

Many airlines from financially troubled Spirit Airlines to profitable Southwest Airlines have cut flights or trimmed growth plans into next year, which has helped keep U.S. fares firm. Aircraft scarcity is also limiting airlines from adding many flights.
There are also some periods of weaker demand overall, executives at the largest U.S. carriers, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines have said, calling out the week before and after the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday.

How airlines got here

Carriers raced to add seats between the U.S. and Europe to cater to post-pandemic travel demand.
That buildup was not just during the peak months. Executives noted that they are seeing more shoulder-season demand to Europe as travelers look to escape scorching summer temperatures and crowds. As a result, they have also added flights outside of peak periods.
Airline capacity between the U.S. and Europe in the fourth quarter is marginally lower than last year, but it is higher than in 2019 and nearly double the amount in the same period of 2021, according to Cirium.
“I expect airfare [to Europe] to be low into next year,” said Hayley Berg, Hopper’s lead economist.
Now, on the heels of two big years for European travel, many customers are fresh off their big trips to popular destinations such as Spain and Italy, which means fewer people to fill seats in the offseason.
“It’s not as though there is so much low-hanging fruit and where airlines could print money hand-over-fist like last year,” said Scott Keyes, founder of travel app Going, which was previously known as Scott’s Cheap Flights.
Airlines traditionally discount flights in the offseason, but they are even cheaper this year.
“That’s the tell,” Keyes said. “When they’re having to go out and discount, they’re having to juice the demand.”
So that travelers do not get bored with European vacation mainstays when next year’s peak warm-weather travel season rolls around, airlines are trying new things. United Airlines has noted many customers have already taken trips to major European cities and the airline plans to expand its schedule next year to more off-the-beaten-path destinations such as Greenland and Mongolia.
“We’re also able to do just as well financially outside of our partner hubs,” United’s Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella said on an earnings call last month. “So we look across the globe, we look for new destinations, we look for hot destinations and destinations, most importantly, we can make money in.”

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Disney’s domestic theme parks have already begun to transition from Halloween decorations to Christmas colors.
The effort is planned over the course of 12 months and involves a number of different departments from the horticulture team and tech services to crane operators, truck drivers, aerial lift drivers and even culinary experts.
October and December are two of the company’s most popular travel months for the parks, according to Gavin Doyle, founder of MickeyVisit.com.

A staple of Disney’s theme park’s celebrations, the giant Mickey pumpkin statue towers over guests on Main Street.

It’s time for Disney parks to swap pumpkins for poinsettias.
In the thick of its busiest season, Disney’s domestic theme parks have already begun to transition from Halloween decorations to Christmas colors. The transformation starts to take shape practically overnight, with warm autumn banners traded out for festive green garlands. The full metamorphosis takes about six weeks.

About two weeks before Halloween, Disney’s crew begins installing “inconspicuous” elements for the holiday season, such as lighting rigs. The effort is planned over the course of 12 months and involves a number of different departments, from the horticulture team and tech services to crane operators, truck drivers, aerial lift drivers and even culinary experts.
Most of the installation is completed during overnight hours when the park is closed.
“While every day is special at a Disney theme park, Halloween and the holidays are two very magical seasons, and our guests keep coming back year after year for both continued traditions and new surprises,” said Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock. “These only-Disney-can-do experiences happen because of our passionate cast members, who make magic while most of us are sleeping — delivering seamless and wildly creative transformations of our parks throughout the year.”

Mickey Mouse poses during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.

Starting Nov. 8 at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and Nov. 15 at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, Disney’s slate of winter holiday offerings will be in full swing — from sparkling ornamented trees and glitzy character costumes to limited-time food and beverage options and exclusive merchandise.
For Disney, these holidays are big business, drumming up significant revenue and traffic.

October and December are two of the company’s most popular travel months for the parks, according to Gavin Doyle, founder of MickeyVisit.com.
“Traditionally, it would have been summer, but it’s actually evolved to be these two months where there’s additional layers of offerings and it’s something unique on top of that,” Doyle said. “It kind of fits into that Disney vault strategy. … This is something that comes out, and then people are really excited about it for a limited time.”

Festive food options arrive just in time for the holidays at Disney’s theme parks. 

Disney’s experiences division — composed of parks, cruises, hotels and consumer products — generated $9.13 billion in revenue during the period from October through December 2023. In other quarters of 2023 and 2024, the division generated anywhere between $7 billion and $8.3 billion.
This year, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween party kicked off Aug. 9 in Florida and Oogie Boogie Bash, a big trick-or-treating event, started Aug. 25 in California — extending the Halloween crowds into the company’s summer quarter. Both events ran through Oct. 31.
The end of the year also brings a lot of repeat visitation, especially from local parkgoers, he said. In building the infrastructure to accommodate these decorations and limited-time specials, Disney has created a tradition for its guests, who bake it into their yearly plans.
The annual changes to character costumes, food and drink options, merchandise and other ambiance updates give attendees something new to explore.

The holiday overlay of Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction features Jack Skellington from “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

With Halloween now over, Disney has turned its attention to the winter holiday season. That includes special holiday changes to rides and attractions as well as Christmastime parades and fireworks.
At Disneyland, holiday overlays for Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, It’s a Small World and Haunted Mansion will debut Nov. 15. Seasonal parades, fireworks and festivals will also launch, and Santa Claus will take up residence at the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.
At the Walt Disney World resort, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party launches Nov. 8 and Jollywood Nights start Nov. 9. At the same time, the Florida park will debut its Christmastime fireworks, parade and themed character meet-and-greets. Space Mountain will be getting a holiday overlay, as will the Jungle Cruise ride, which will temporarily become Jingle Cruise, and other attractions.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse pose during Jollywood Nights. More

Apple committed about $1.5 billion to satellite communications company Globalstar to fund the expansion of iPhone services.
The tech giant has already been spending hundreds of millions for Globalstar services, which enabled the 2022 rollout of iPhone emergency satellite texting.
The new funds will allow Globalstar to purchase new satellites and expand its ground infrastructure.

Sofia Pitt, CNBC

Apple committed about $1.5 billion to satellite communications company Globalstar to fund the expansion of iPhone services, the companies disclosed in a securities filing on Friday.
The tech giant’s deal with Globalstar includes $1.1 billion in cash, of which $232 million will go toward the satellite company’s current debt, and a 20% equity stake. The deal is expected to close on Tuesday.

Apple has already been spending hundreds of millions for Globlastar services, which enabled the 2022 rollout of iPhone emergency satellite texting.
It is one of several efforts in the direct-to-device, or D2D, satellite connectivity market — which provides service to unmodified devices such as smartphones directly from space — with other projects underway from SpaceX, AST SpaceMobile, Iridium, Lynk and EchoStar.
Globalstar stock jumped 31.4% in Friday trading to close at $1.38 a share.

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In the filing, Globalstar noted that it will continue to allocate about 85% of its network capacity to Apple.
The new funds will allow Globalstar to purchase new satellites and expand its ground infrastructure. Globalstar currently operates 31 satellites and has already ordered as many as 26 satellites to replenish and upgrade its constellation in low Earth orbit.

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An outage or loss of GPS satellites is estimated to cost the U.S. military and economy upward of $1 billion a day.
Pentagon leaders believe that estimate is conservative, leading the U.S. Space Force to kick off a new roughly $2 billion satellite program to build a backup GPS.
For startup Astranis, one of the four companies selected for R-GPS, the program marks an expansion beyond satellite internet, as it announced its new line of Nexus satellites.

A depiction of Nexus satellites in a medium Earth orbit constellation.

The U.S. Air Force began deploying the Global Positioning System — more commonly known as GPS — nearly 50 years ago, satellites which have become critical infrastructure for both the military and the economy.
Since then, GPS is estimated to have generated more than $1.4 trillion in economic benefits, according to a Commerce Department study. But the agency warned that an “outage could potentially have an economic impact of $1 billion a day.” 

Pentagon leaders believe those losses are a conservative estimate, leading the U.S. Space Force to kick off a roughly $2 billion satellite program known as the Resilient Global Positioning System. Called R-GPS for short, the program is intended to provide an alternative, backup network for the current satellite system.
“[GPS is] vitally important to everything we do day-to-day, from the stock market, for timing of every transaction, to the crops we field,” Lt. Col. Justin Deifel, leader of R-GPS at the Space Force’s Space Systems Command, told CNBC.
“It’s like water and electricity. … It’s a utility of the economy and a utility of a warfighter that we need to make sure is available,” Deifel added.

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The importance of the existing 31 GPS satellites in orbit, as well as the potential threat in space from U.S. adversaries like Russia and China, has led the Pentagon to prioritize building the alternative R-GPS network — and the Space Force has turned to the commercial space industry to do so.
Last month, the branch awarded four companies with contracts for R-GPS design concepts: Astranis, Axient, L3 Harris and Sierra Space.

Astranis branches out

A rendering of a Nexus satellite in assembly.

For startup Astranis, which launched its first “MicroGEO” spacecraft last year, the R-GPS program marks an expansion beyond satellite internet into the market for positioning, navigation and timing, or PNT, services.
“We’ve started to see a huge push towards proliferation in higher orbits by the U.S. national security community,” Astranis CEO John Gedmark told CNBC. “Now the Department of Defense has recognized all of the fantastic things that we can do in high orbits with a next-generation small satellite approach.”
As it expands as a company, Astranis is announcing its new Nexus product line of PNT satellites, its answer for the R-GPS program. Gedmark noted they use the same type of spacecraft as the company’s broadband satellites.

A rendering of a Nexus satellite in orbit above the U.S.

Additionally, as R-GPS satellites will operate in medium Earth orbit, like the current GPS constellation, the Nexus product line marks a widening of where Astranis plans to deploy and operate its spacecraft.
The company, having raised $750 million since its founding in 2015, has announced deals for 12 of its internet satellites, 10 of which are expected to launch to geosynchronous orbit by the end of next year.
“We knew pretty early on that this platform that we developed could be used for other missions than broadband telecommunications and the Resilient GPS program has just come along as a perfect example of that,” Gedmark said.
Gedmark sees R-GPS as “a multi-billion dollar opportunity,” given that Space Force wants to build a full constellation of at least two dozen satellites.

The R-GPS plan

Space Force used a novel Pentagon funding authority, called “Quick Start,” to get the R-GPS program going.
In less than six months, the program got approval from the deputy secretary of defense, conducted market research, hosted companies for an industry day, solicited bids and awarded initial contracts — a process the military notes often takes as long as three years for space programs.
“The speed with which they’ve moved on this program is unprecedented. … We’ve never seen the Department of Defense move that fast before,” Gedmark said.

A rendering of a Nexus satellite in orbit.

R-GPS handed out $40 million total to fund the design studies. The companies will have an eight-month “phase zero” period to start their work that ends in spring, SSC’s Deifel explained.
“The total current budget, when you think of just recurring engineering costs: We’re looking at $50 [million] to $80 million per satellite and procuring upwards of 24 satellites. So the quick math is $1.2 [billion] to $1.9 billion for 24 satellites, over the course of the next five to six years,” Deifel said.
While the budget doesn’t currently include “non-recurring engineering costs,” Deifel said he expects those expenses will be significantly less than the design costs.
Space Systems Command wants to buy and deploy the R-GPS satellites in batches of eight, with the first set launching as soon as 2028.
As the design reviews wrap up, SSC plans to select one or more of the companies to move forward with the program into the construction stages.
While Astranis’ first satellite malfunctioned last year due to a third-party issue with its solar arrays, the company’s experience operating in the distant geosynchronous orbit has Gedmark confident about its chances in the R-GPS program.
“We are the only company that has proven on orbit a spacecraft of this class — a low cost, [radiation]-hardened satellite for high orbits,” Gedmark said. More