The Peak Weekend Reader

Good morning. At the beginning of this month, we launched Assignment Desk to let our readers (that’s you!) vote on the next topic we should cover. Today, we’re publishing the winning story, “Spare a Thought for the Economy Flyer: The Cabin Economics Pushing Airlines Towards Business Class.” It received just over 50% of the votes and is written by me. 

When you walk onto a plane, you either turn right or turn left. Right? You’re likely headed to a standard seat, where a fight for overhead bin space and “chicken or pasta?” awaits. Left? Business class, where you can enjoy real cutlery and be treated like a visiting dignitary. I’ve done both over the years, but lately it feels like the gap between the front of the plane and the back just keeps getting wider (and as planes devote more and more cabin space to premium seats, that walk is also feeling longer).

Business class was once a loss leader for airlines. Today it’s a massive profit driver, with no signs of shrinking. As the in-flight luxuries keep soaring, I spoke to an airline insider, a points expert, and a fleet strategy consultant to find out what this shift means for those of us seated past row 10.

Happy reading,

Liz

📚 We’re all reading the same books. In a world where monoculture has apparently died, why are bookstore shelves seemingly less varied than ever? Véronique Hyland tries to answer that question in this Elle piece, probing the factors that have same-ified reading lists. The answer: a mix of corporate consolidation, blockbuster marketing, and cultural FOMO. 

🍌 Scientists are racing to save the banana. Bananas are the second-most consumed fruit globally (behind only tomatoes), but face rising risks from climate change and an onslaught of new killer diseases. This has led to global efforts to develop disease-resistant variants of the yellow fruit — and one research group just made a potential breakthrough in the lab.

🛸 U.S. agents detail UFO encounter. According to newly declassified documents, federal agents saw a 15-foot “matte black triangle” zooming across the sky earlier this year outside a secure U.S. facility. It apparently moved as fast as a fighter jet, yet made no sound, and quickly disappeared. Out of all the UFO files the White House has released this year, this one might be the spookiest. 

🇩🇰 Copenhagen’s hottest food? Cheese, butter, and bread. What might sound like a university struggle meal to some is the trendiest culinary confection in the Danish capital. Called a bolle med ost (BMO, for short), it is quite literally just a bun with butter and hard cheese. The Danes are eating it at all times of day, and bakeries are battling to perfect the deceptively simple alchemy of gluten and dairy.

They’re calling it Europe’s “Angry Autumn.” 

Multiple countries on the continent are contending with an outburst of protests, often led by young people and, in some cases, turning violent. While each of these protests have its own distinct motivating factors, they’re all connected by a shared sense of discontent with living conditions and distrust that the governments in power will do anything to make life better. Here’s a rundown of what’s happening and where — excluding France, which we wrote about in depth a couple of weeks ago (and the government enacted a ban on "Illegitimate protests”).

🇦🇱 Albania. Protests first broke out across Albania earlier this year in response to the government fast-tracking the development of a luxury resort on Sazan Island, allegedly eschewing proper environmental precautions in the process. To make things even more controversial, the resort is backed by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Dubbed the Flamingo Revolution — taking its name from the greater flamingo that lives in the nation’s protected wetlands — the protests expanded to be about government corruption writ large, as well as concerns over the cost of living and poor university conditions. Over the past several weeks, protesters have demanded that Prime Minister Edi Rama step down, as protesters and law enforcement have clashed in the capital city of Tirana. For his part, Rama is refusing to resign and has tried to claim that the protests have been co-opted by groups who are mad about Albania’s goals of attaining EU membership. 

🇧🇪 Belgium. Belgium’s protests started as an outgrowth of France’s education protests, with students in the country taking to the streets in solidarity with their Gallic brethren. Belgian students too have a lot to be upset about — in particular recent austerity measures adopted by the federation responsible for French-language education in the country. Seeking to find  €500 million in savings by 2029, the federation plans to eliminate 1,300 teaching positions and make the teachers who remain work more without a pay bump. Other plans include raising student fees, cutting free school meals, and halving school supplies funding. The protests have expanded to include broader cost-of-living-concerns, with clashes breaking out in the streets of cities like Brussels and Liège, leading to hundreds of arrests.

🇮🇹 Italy. Inflation woes, concerns over education, and anti-war sentiments are the top driving factors of protests in Italy. While they have broken out across several cities, the nation’s financial capital, Milan, has been in the headlines for looting and particularly violent clashes between police and certain segments of protesters.  The Italian government responded by passing a raft of anti-protest measures that included deploying 500 troops to Milan by the end of the year, increasing surveillance, making parents financially liable for any damages their children cause during protests, and introducing a new offence for “violent participation in public demonstrations.”

🇪🇸 🇵🇹 Spain and Portugal. Housing has been at the centre of protests in the two Iberian nations, with rents continuing to climb amid overtourism in major city centres. In Spain, Madrid has been the focal point, with protest camps set up in the city centre — a move sparked by the eviction and subsequent death of an 87-year-old woman. These protests actually did lead Spain’s ruling party to put forward new housing measures, which subsequently died in parliament. In response, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called a snap election for next month. Adding to the pressure is an ongoing teachers’ strike in Madrid and the threat of a 24-hour general strike next month orchestrated by Spain’s two biggest unions.

📡 What else is on our radar:

Airlines are betting big on business class, with Michelin menus and extra-plush lie-flat suites. British Airways just announced the biggest business class in the sky, Delta’s premium revenue has surpassed the main cabin for the first time, and Air Canada says to expect “more, not less, business-class seats.” For economy travellers, it’s hard not to feel like an afterthought. We spoke to an airline consultant, an Air Canada product lead, and a travel expert on the cabin economics that are making the front of the plane bigger and bigger.