Happy Friday from Palm Beach!

I grew up in South Florida and always love returning to my old stomping grounds. We’re here for a wedding, but it certainly doesn’t hurt that it’s 80 degrees and sunny.

I’m starting with big TSA news before getting into what else is happening in travel. Think: airline merger rumors, a major sale, AI phone agents, and even a section on gratitude.

Catch up on everything you need to know before the weekend below.

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Not so fast.

The Senate voted early Friday to fund most of DHS, including TSA, but the measure still needs House approval before it can reach President Trump’s desk. Trump has also said he’ll take executive action to pay TSA workers.

But relief isn’t coming immediately.

It’s shaping up to be another rough weekend at some of the country’s busiest airports, including Atlanta, Houston, and the biggest NYC airports: LaGuardia, Newark, and JFK.

For context, my wife waited more than an hour in the Touchless ID line at Newark last night.

If you’re traveling, get to the airport early — and share my free live TSA wait-time tracker with anyone else who is flying.

Here’s the link: tsa.fromthetraytable.com

If you aren’t packing an AirTag in every single bag, you’re not traveling correctly.

The good news is that Amazon’s Big Spring Sale is on, and the first-generation AirTags are nearly 40% off. That’s about as cheap as they get, so I’d definitely consider stocking up if you’re running low.

The second-generation AirTags pack a few new features, but they aren’t on sale. So if price is your top priority, I’d grab the older ones now.

While much of the news this week focused on United’s Elevated Polaris cabins, the airline also shared a slew of upcoming tech improvements that didn’t get nearly enough attention.

Perhaps the biggest news is that United plans to introduce AI voice agents to answer basic questions on its 1-800 number.

I’m not sure how you feel about that, but if I’m picking up the phone, I’d certainly prefer connecting with a human. (And if I were a United call center rep right now, I’d probably be a little nervous.)

Other updates include automated standby lists, personalized seatback screens, and much more.

Odds are you’ll see these changes long before you fly in the new Polaris cabins, so you should probably catch up on the details below.

I flew to West Palm Beach yesterday on UA 2464.

My one-year-old daughter and I were flying solo. My wife met us in Florida after work, so I was in charge of carrying two rollaboards, two backpacks, a stroller, a car seat, and our daughter.

When we fly with our daughter, we wait until the very end to board. (Why subject your toddler to more time than necessary in a densely packed metal tube?)

When I got to the boarding door, the purser asked what he could do to help. I asked if he could bring the backpacks to our seats.

I didn’t see him again until final descent, when he came back to row 27 and asked what he could do to help us during deplaning.

It’s been a while since I’ve had such a genuinely positive experience with a flight attendant. Maybe he was just happy that United and its flight attendant union reached a tentative agreement on a new labor deal with big raises.

By the way, for any United employees reading this — I know there are tons of you — the purser was Simon Dunn, and his employee code is 404108.

The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse has long been my favorite business-class lounge at London Heathrow, and it’s getting even better.

The airline just debuted a refresh of the space, including new workstations, wellness experiences, and relaxation areas.

The lounge didn’t get any larger — and goodness knows it needs more space during peak periods — but Virgin says additional improvements are coming soon.

I like it when travel companies don’t just rest on their laurels.

Another airline merger might be brewing.

JetBlue is exploring what a sale to Alaska, Southwest, or United might look like, according to a recent Semafor report.

Of those three, Alaska feels like the most plausible fit to me. JetBlue could help Alaska become a nationwide powerhouse, though the airline is presumably too busy integrating Hawaiian to want another big project right now.

I don’t see the revamped Southwest being especially interested, and Scott Kirby has recently downplayed rumors that United might want JetBlue.

This will be a fun one to watch, especially because I still have 350,000 JetBlue points sitting in my account waiting to be redeemed.

Question: How much will United’s new Relax Row cost?

Answer: In case you missed it, United debuted a couch-style experience in economy.

To sit in the so-called Relax Row, you’ll first need to purchase three economy tickets. For example, if you’re traveling with one child, you’ll need to buy an extra seat at the prevailing economy fare to reserve the full row.

Then you’ll also need to pay a Relax Row seat assignment fee. United says that the fee will be priced dynamically based on demand, flight length, and the number of Relax Rows on a given flight.

That means, it’ll probably be cheaper to reserve a Relax Row to London than to Manila.

Either way, Relax Row should help boost United’s unit revenues from the economy cabin.

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