AAA Corporate Travel Newsletter October 28, 2011

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1 AAA Corporate Travel Newsletter October 28, 2011 *Treats, not tricks, among Day of the Dead traditions Pumpkins and witch costumes, synonymous with Halloween, pale by comparison with the elaborateness of Mexico City's traditional Day of the Dead celebrations. The holiday celebrations take place on Nov. 1, which is the Roman Catholic feast of All Saints Day, and Nov. 2, All Souls Day, during which family and friends gather to remember departed loved ones. The Day of the Dead, despite its somewhat gruesome name, is a cheerful celebration and, much like Halloween in the U.S., is a favorite of kids in Mexico, who dress in costume and pocket lots of treats. It's the time of year when the souls of the deceased are said to return to their homes, welcomed by relatives to eat their favorite foods, dance and otherwise join in the festivities. Traditions include candlelight ceremonies in cemeteries under night skies, where families decorate burial plots with sugar skulls and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed. Evening street festivals feature mariachi musicians and pre-hispanic dances by costumed locals in memory of their loved ones. Family altars hold photos, Mexican candies, tequila and sugar statues. Markets are filled with the Aztec marigold cempasuchil flower, used to guide the souls to their homes and altars. All over Mexico, bakeries offer pan de muerto, a bread made with flour, butter, sugar, eggs, orange peel, anise and yeast. Atop the loaf, crisscrossing strips of dough represent bones, and a small, round piece of dough represents a teardrop. These breads are placed on the altars, or ofrendas, and are also taken to the tombs in the graveyard. Traditional ceremonies take place in Mexico City's Zocalo, the central plaza, where residents and university students adorn the main altar with flowers and play sacred music, stage performances and read poetry. The Tianguis del Dia de Muertos, a large market with dancers, flower stalls and local arts and crafts, is held in Xochimilco, an area known as the Venice of Mexico City.

2 The bohemian-inspired neighborhood of Coyoacan features a holiday market where residents and visitors dress in costumes for an evening street festival on Nov. 2. Catrina, an elegant and iconic female skeleton created by artists Jose Guadeloupe Posada and Diego Rivera, is the most popular costume of the Day of the Dead celebrations. Travel Weekly 10/24 *Travel Alert Millions of Catholics will travel to their hometowns to honor their ancestors and visit cemeteries and memorial parks on All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day Nov Increased crime is likely. Law enforcement agencies will be on heightened alert and boost security at cemeteries, bus terminals, seaports, and airports throughout the country. Terrorism warnings have occurred during the holiday time frame in the past, prompting authorities to step up around the Pandacan oil depot, shopping centers, commuter rail stations, government offices, power and telecommunications facilities, and other vital installations in Metro Manila. Advice For those not observing holiday rites, try to avoid areas around major cemeteries and memorial parks throughout the Philippines Nov. 1-2 due to large crowds, street closures, and traffic congestion. Take steps to ensure adequate security for unattended residences. Plan for potential travel delays through Nov. 2 and use extra caution if highway driving is necessary. Delta will expand extra-legroom option fleetwide Following its introduction of extra-legroom seats in the economy cabins of its long-haul international aircraft, Delta Air Lines now says it will bring that amenity to its entire fleet in the coming months. Delta announced its Economy Comfort seats will be installed by next summer on its mainline fleet of 550 planes, as well as 250 regional jets that offer a two-class configuration. Economy Comfort seats will include the first three to five rows in the economy cabin, offering a seat pitch of 34 inches or more, vs. the 31-inch standard pitch in economy. Customers booked into Economy Comfort seats will also get priority boarding, Delta said. The expansion will make the product available on domestic Delta flights as well as routes to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and northern South America. The surcharge for the seats will range from $19 to $99 one-way, Delta said, depending on the itinerary. However, Diamond, Platinum and Gold Medallion members of SkyMiles will be able to book the seats at no extra cost, as will persons who buy full-fare economy tickets. SkyMiles Silver Medallion members will be able to book the seats at a 50 percent discount off the regular surcharge, or they can get them for no fee if Economy Comfort seats are still available at the time of check-in. Delta said the first non-long-haul aircraft with the new seating option will be a 757 that should be ready in November. Reservations for the seating option won t open up until late

3 spring, for travel in summer Our goal is to make sure premium customers are sitting in premium seats, said Delta CEO Richard Anderson. The extra space required to install the Economy Comfort seating will be obtained by removing a negligible number of seats from the current cabin configuration, Delta said. The seating change will affect Delta s domestic 767s, 757s, 737s, MD88s, MD90s, DC9s, Airbus A319s and A320s, and regional jets including CRJ900s, CRJ700s, E170s and E175s. Executive Travel/Airlines10/21 Worldwide airline fee revenues jump 43.8 percent in a year Airlines unending appetite for new revenues from passenger fees is really going global. A new study finds that worldwide totals for airline income from sources other than ticket sales have jumped by 43.8 percent from 2010 to The study by IdeaWorks, conducted for the Amadeus global distribution system, estimates that airlines worldwide will haul in $32.5 billion from passenger fees and mileage sales (termed ancillary revenue ) this year, up from $22.6 billion in As ancillary revenues continue to grow rapidly, we are now seeing increasing interest from full service carriers around the world, said Holger Taubmann, vp of distribution for Amadeus. Looking at different airline groupings, the study found that the biggest annual increase in ancillary revenues was at U.S. major airlines, with their take jumping 87 percent year-overyear, from $6.7 billion in 2010 to an estimated $12.5 billion this year. It designated some carriers as ancillary revenue champs, i.e., those that get about 20 percent of overall revenues from passenger fees; that group includes Spirit Airlines in the U.S. as well as AirAsia, Aer Lingus, easyjet and, of course, Ryanair. The $12.5 billion brought in by major U.S. carriers (Alaska, American, Delta, Continental, Hawaiian, United and US Airways) represents 38 percent of the global total, the companies said. As proven by this revenue result, U.S.-based airlines have readily adapted to an a la carte world, the companies observed, but they also benefit from consumers who are keen to get frequent flier miles. The study noted that fully 50 percent of the ancillary revenues at major U.S. airlines come form the sale of frequent flier program miles to partner companies and individuals mostly to partner credit cards. Baggage fees account for 20 percent, while the other 30 percent came from other a la carte passenger services as well as onboard and website retail sales. With high oil prices eating away at airline profit margins, the rise in ancillary revenues has lifted the airline industry from a loss-making position and continues to provide a very effective hedge against runaway fuel bills, the report noted. Executive Travel/International 10/21

4 Detroit leads the way as hotel industry rebounds Travelers in the coming year should prepare to pay higher rates and compete for the best rooms, a new analysis of future hotel bookings suggests. Occupancy nationwide is expected to increase by about 5% and rates by about 4%, according to industry tracker TravelClick's analysis of North American hotel bookings for the 12 months ending Sept. 30, "While there is much uncertainty regarding where the overall economy is headed, hotel industry performance over the remainder of 2011 and heading into 2012 continues to look strong," said Tim Hart, a TravelClick executive vice president. The gains should please hotel owners, who endured steep drops in occupancy and room rates in the recession. Revenue per available room, the industry's key financial measure, is expected to increase by almost 7%, the analysis says. The recovery will not be across-the-board. Five markets in the next 12 months are expected to see hotel occupancy sink, with Minneapolis-St. Paul (-9%) and Denver (-8%) predicted to fare the worst. On the other end of the spectrum, a handful are projected to see occupancy gains of 15% or more. Charlotte is expected to experience a 20% increase in occupancy, followed by 15% gains in Houston, Seattle and Philadelphia, which will mean renewed competition for rooms and perhaps a wait in the check-in line. It's Detroit, however, that TravelClick predicts will emerge the biggest winner during this period, with an expected 22% increase in occupancy. "We're well ahead of the curve from a national improvement standpoint," says Thomas Conran, principal of Greenwood Hospitality Group, owner of The Henry hotel in Dearborn, Mich., a Detroit suburb. Reflecting Detroit's economy, the Henry had previously been a luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel where the auto industry frequently met and had functions, but Conran's group repositioned it last year. Out were the dark-wood-covered walls that gave the hotel its clubby atmosphere. In were a lighter color palette, a vibrant restaurant, reduced room rates and marketing by Marriott's "anti-chain" Autograph Collection. On busy mid-week nights, a guest might today pay about $200 a night less than during the auto industry's heyday. But what the Henry lost in rate, it's starting to make up with volume. "There's an energy that this hotel has not seen for many, many years," says Conran.

5 Conran credits Detroit's recent recovery to the state's efforts to lure more leisure travelers via its Michigan.org website, as well as the success of Detroit's resurgent sports teams, which has helped lure weekend visitors. Finally, Conran says, the Detroit area is seeing "significant" year-over-year gains in business travel thanks to the recovering auto industry. "We can't underestimate the fact that the health of the auto industry has improved dramatically," Conran says. USA Today/Travel 10/28