The surprising reason airlines invest so much in airplane interiors | CNN

In our roundup of travel stories this week: the families who were ripped apart by Italy’s new citizenship laws, why some travelers say airport lounges are no longer worth it, plus more woe for the Boeing 737 Max.

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In our roundup of travel stories this week: The families who were ripped apart by Italy’s new citizenship laws, why some travelers say airport lounges are no longer worth it, plus more woe for the Boeing 737 Max.

Old plane, new tricks

Airplanes up to 45 years old are safely flying commercial routes around the world, but airlines invest a lot to make sure travelers aren’t aware they’re taking to the skies in a decades-old aircraft.

This starts with maintenance and includes brand-new interiors — everything from seats to sidewalls and inflight entertainment — to keep fliers happy. One example is United Airlines’ fleet of Boeing 767s, which feature all the carrier’s very latest cabin comfort experiences, but four of which entered service way back in 1991.

“Airplanes are built incredibly durably,” says Nathaniel Pieper, chief commercial officer of American Airlines. “Nobody’s going to know what the hull says.” Read our full story for more of Pieper’s trade secrets.

The Boeing 767, introduced in 1982, is regarded as a reliable workhorse of the skies, in contrast to the beleaguered reputation of the Boeing 737 MAX, which lost faith with customers early, after two fatal crashes.

The US Federal Aviation Administration flagged another safety issue at the end of July, saying seats on hundreds of Boeing 737 MAX jets registered in the US may require inspections in case they were incorrectly installed and needed to be fixed.

Those weren’t the only aviation improvements to make headlines recently. One of the country’s least popular airports is set for a $22.5 billion renovation as part of President Trump’s latest push to reshape Washington, DC.

However, a new CNN poll shows 58% of Americans say they feel dissatisfied or angry about his construction projects in the capital.

Italy’s new citizenship laws

When Gustavo Monasterios, a 47-year-old Venezuelan, won his lawsuit for Italian citizenship last week, he opened the door for millions of Italian descendants to gain citizenship by descent. The Italian supreme court’s abolition of 2024 restrictions on citizenship by descent means American families who’d been torn apart by the new legislation can now be reunited.

“There were moments when I thought, ‘Give up,’” says Monasterios. “We’ve been in this for the past 10 years. It’s a lot of paperwork, a big financial burden, and not knowing what’s going to happen affects your mental health. I felt, why should I continue when it’s costing me so much?

“But we said, we’re here to win the war, and losing battles are part of winning the war.”

America’s Best Towns

America's Best Towns to Visit 2026: Fort Collins

Continuing our countdown of America’s Best Towns to Visit in 2026, we have Fort Collins, Colorado, at No. 5.

The charming downtown of this former 19th-century military outpost provided real-life inspiration for Disneyland’s Main Street USA, and you can still get a sense of that small-town nostalgia when walking through its pedestrian-only Old Town Square.

It’s also home to a nationally famous brewery, a rad ‘80s cafe, the coolest of indie movie theaters and, for out-of-town adventures, it’s right at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

Take a look, too, at the rest of our list so far: Roanoke, Virginia, at No. 10, Lawrence, Kansas, at No. 9, Iowa City, Iowa at No. 8, Juneau, Alaska, at No. 7 and Burlington, Vermont, at No. 6.

Beijing’s hottest new tourist spot

Each month tens of thousands of people in China jostle online to grab a coveted spot for a car factory tour on the outskirts of Beijing. CNN’s Steven Jiang explores the sprawling Xiaomi plant, said to be the size of the Forbidden City, and the nationwide fascination with the Tesla Gigafactory rival.

Each month, tens of thousands of people in China jostle online to grab a coveted spot for a car factory tour on the outskirts of Beijing. The sprawling Xiaomi plant is said to be the size of the Chinese capital’s Forbidden City.

In case you missed it

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