Leroy Carter's first All Blacks call-up nearly goes awry after dog eats passport
Carter, a utility back named among the injury replacements in Scott Robertson's All Blacks squad, found his passport ruined on his bed and had to scramble to arrange a new one.
"I got my passport out to take a photo to send to the (team) manager, and I just left it on my bedside table," the 26-year-old told New Zealand media.
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Japan Times
2 days ago
- Japan Times
Leroy Carter's first All Blacks call-up nearly goes awry after dog eats passport
Leroy Carter's dream call-up to New Zealand's Rugby Championship squad nearly turned sour when he discovered his passport had been chewed up by his dog days before leaving for Argentina. Carter, a utility back named among the injury replacements in Scott Robertson's All Blacks squad, found his passport ruined on his bed and had to scramble to arrange a new one. "I got my passport out to take a photo to send to the (team) manager, and I just left it on my bedside table," the 26-year-old told New Zealand media.
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Japan Times
Airbnb warns of slowing growth despite strong Q2 earnings
Airbnb issued a better-than-expected outlook for the third quarter as it saw encouraging summer travel demand, but warned that growth rates may not keep up later this year due to tough year-ago comparisons. For the three months ending Sept. 30, the short-term rental company said growth on the basis of nights and seats booked — a closely watched metric — is expected to be "relatively stable' from the 7.4% achieved in the second quarter, Airbnb said in a shareholder letter on Wednesday. That's close to the 7% increase that Wall Street was projecting. Third-quarter revenue is expected to be in the range of $4.02 billion to $4.1 billion, the mid-point of which also exceeds the average analyst estimate. "As we look ahead to Q3, we're encouraged by current demand trends,' Airbnb said in the letter, adding that it saw an acceleration of nights-booked growth in July, particularly in North America. Yet, it expects tougher year-over-year comparisons toward the end of the current period and into the fourth quarter, "putting pressure on growth rates later in the year.' Airbnb's results were surprisingly strong in the second half of last year, as travelers ultimately booked trips that they had delayed. Shares of Airbnb fell 6.3% in extended trading. On Wednesday, Airbnb also announced a new share repurchase program of as much as $6 billion, after it beat expectations to generate $1 billion in free cash flow in the second quarter. Airbnb's report follows the lukewarm forecast provided by online travel peer Booking, which warned that worsening economic uncertainty will weigh on travel demand. Airbnb's second-quarter results otherwise broadly exceeded expectations from "solid growth in nights stayed,' the company said. Gains were especially strong in Latin America and Asia Pacific — registering double digits — as the company saw more first-time bookers in Brazil and Japan following an effort on Airbnb's part to adapt the product and marketing to local tastes. Meanwhile, reservations by North American travelers contributed low single-digit growth in nights booked despite some improvement in demand during the period, mostly driven by domestic travel. The slow gains weighed on broader results, Airbnb said: excluding this region, which makes up about 30% of total nights and seats booked, total nights would have grown double-digits during the quarter. Overall, total nights and seats booked grew 7.4% to 134.4 million in the second quarter. Revenue was $3.1 billion, exceeding expectations for $3.03 billion. Net income was $642 million. Analysts were expecting $599.3 million. The company did not break out results for its Experiences and new a la carte Services offerings that it launched in May, which allows travelers to book tour activities as well as hire professionals such as chefs, personal trainers or photographers. But it said that awareness is growing and guest feedback has been positive early on. It has also received "significant interest from potential activity hosts,' with more than 60,000 applications submitted since launch. These new verticals will help add $1 billion or more in revenue annually, Chief Executive Officer Brian Chesky has said, though it will take a few years for them to scale up. Airbnb restated the amount it plans to invest into the new businesses, with a new pledge of $200 million. That figure is in line with the lower bound of the range it provided investors in February. The impact of these investments on earnings margins will be most pronounced in the second half of this year, it has said. The launch of new businesses has also put the company in a "better position' to reward its customers through a loyalty program, Chief Business Officer Dave Stephenson said in an interview last week, saying that one is under consideration for the future. Chesky elaborated further on the opportunity when asked on an earnings call with analysts on Wednesday, and reiterated that Airbnb will not offer a points program like its hospitality competitors. "A loyalty or membership program is a very, very compelling thing for Airbnb,' he said. "I do think we are sometimes at a competitive disadvantage vis-a-vis OTAs and hotels because they have a lot of programs that we don't. So I think there is a lot of upside if we were to have a program.' "If we were to do something, I don't think it would be a traditional points program,' he added. "I think it would be something much more interesting and novel. I absolutely think you should see something from us in the future. Not imminently but in the future.'
Japan Times
01-08-2025
- Japan Times
Record number of foreign passengers used Narita Airport in June
The number of foreign passengers using Narita Airport, near Tokyo, rose 1% in June from a year earlier to 1,849,269, a record high for the month, the airport's operator said Thursday. The increase was led by flights to and from China, Narita Airport said. The total number of international passengers, including Japanese, at the airport in Chiba Prefecture, was up 2% in June, at 2,670,104. In the January-June period, the number of non-Japanese international passengers using the airport climbed 15% from a year earlier to 12,224,789, a record for the first half, thanks to brisk demand for short-distance flights within Asia and a weak yen. The overall number of international passengers, including Japanese, at the airport jumped 12% to 17,333,344.
