AAA Corporate Travel Newsletter
September 2, 2011
AAA Expects 31.5 Million to Travel for Labor Day Holiday
AAA projects approximately 31.5 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more this Labor Day
holiday weekend, a 2.4 percent decline from the 32.3 million who traveled in 2010. This small
decrease is being attributed to recent economic uncertainty and increasing airfare. However,
Labor Day continues to be a busy travel weekend as families and friends gather for one last
celebration of summer.
Additional information regarding Labor Day holiday travel includes:
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27.3 million Americans are expected to drive to holiday destinations, an increase of
0.5 percent.
About 2.5 million travelers will fly during the holiday weekend, down slightly by 1.9
percent from last year.
Average spending is expected to be $702, approximately $5 more than last year’s
average of $697;
Distance traveled over the upcoming holiday weekend is expected to average 608
miles.
Airfare over the holiday weekend is expected to increase 13 percent from last year
with the lowest round-trip airfare averaging $202.
Hotel rates for AAA Three Diamond properties are also expected to increase this year,
up six percent to an average of $148 per night compared to $139 per night last year.
AAA News Release, August 25, 2011
Southwest will break into Atlanta market by February
Starting February 12, 2012, Atlanta-area travelers will have a new airline option: Southwest.
In what it is calling ―an eagerly anticipated milestone‖ in its acquisition of Atlanta-based
AirTran Airways, Southwest said it will begin its own service out of ATL for the first time ever,
operating 15 flights a day to five cities, including two daily flights to Austin, four to
Baltimore/Washington, two to Denver, three to Houston Hobby and four to Chicago Midway.
The ATL-Austin route is not currently served by AirTran; the others are, but they also
represent links between the huge Atlanta market and Southwest’s key connecting airports. In
fact, Southwest said its initial schedule at ATL will permit direct or connecting service to 48
Southwest destinations. That includes one-stop, same-plane service to Dallas Love Field.
Southwest is offering introductory fares as low as $79 and $99 each way in its initial Atlanta
markets, for purchase through September 5 and for travel February 12-March 9.
Southwest CEO Gary Kelly told the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce that business travelers are
a key target market for the airline’s Atlanta presence. ―Here in Atlanta, our fully refundable,
walk-up fares will be, on average, more than 30 percent lower than anything currently in
these markets,‖ he said, adding that unlike its major competitors, Southwest still does not
charge a $150 change fee. Kelly also announced that top members of both Southwest’s and
AirTran’s loyalty programs – elite A+ members of AirTran’s A+ Rewards and A-List members of
Southwest’s Rapid Rewards – can now obtain reciprocal benefits when traveling on the other
carrier. AirTran elites flying Southwest will get bonus Rapid Rewards points, priority boarding
and access to priority security lanes, while Southwest’s elites traveling on AirTran will get
free upgrades to business class, waiver of baggage fees and other perks.
Executive Travel, August 31, 2011
Delta tightens rules on short-notice award ticket changes
Members of Delta’s SkyMiles program who wait until the last minute to cancel award ticket
bookings or mileage upgrades now face a severe penalty: Loss of their miles. The airline said
on its website that effective August 15, SkyMiles members who change their plans and want
to cancel an award ticket or mileage upgrade must do so no later than 72 hours before
scheduled departure. If they don’t meet that deadline, the miles they had spent on those
awards ―are nonrefundable‖ and cannot be re-deposited into their account, Delta said. In
addition, award tickets booked less than 72 hours before departure are also nonrefundable
and cannot be re-deposited or changed. Changes to mileage upgrades without a redeposit of
miles are still allowed within 72 hours of departure, subject to change fees and fare rules.
Why the changes? The airline said that in the past year, more than a million SkyMiles award
tickets were canceled or reissued within that 72-hour window. ―As a result, a significant
number of these award seats departed unused as other members did not have time to rebook
them,‖ Delta said. The new rules ―will make unused seats available to other members and
ultimately increase award ticket availability.‖ Diamond and Platinum members who cancel
award trips at least 72 hours in advance will continue to receive waivers of redeposit and
reissuing fees. For Gold, Silver and other members, the award ticket and mileage upgrade
redeposit/reissue fee of $150 still applies.
Executive Travel, August 31, 2011
AA rolls out bonus rewards for Advantage Elites
To mark the 30th anniversary of its frequent flyer program, American Airlines is offering
special rewards options for elite AAdvantage members, based on their elite status and the
number of elite-qualifying points they accumulate during 2011. To get the extras, members
must register before December 15 at www.aa.com/offers, using promotion code ELTAA.
Executive Platinum members who pile up 125,000 or more elite-qualifying points this year can
select two of the following rewards: 35,000 bonus miles; a pair of one-way system wide
upgrades; a year’s Admirals Club membership; or AAdvantage Gold status for a friend.
Platinum members who accumulate 75,000 to 99,999 points can select one reward: 25,000
bonus miles; eight 500-mile upgrades; four Admirals Club day passes; a 15 percent AA.com
discount code; or Gold status for a friend. Gold members with 40,000 to 49,999 elite
qualifying points in 2011 are eligible for 15,000 bonus miles; four 500-mile upgrades; two
Admirals Club day passes; or a 10 percent discount code. For more information on the special
perks, go to www.aa.com/eliterewards.
Executive Travel, August 31, 2011
Study: Business travel cost just keep going up
The ongoing revival of business travel in 2011 carries with it a price – or more exactly, a
bunch of price increases, as the cost of company trips continued to show significant gains in
the second quarter. In the second quarter of 2011, average one-way domestic fares rose 8
percent year-over-year, to $260; that’s also a 5 percent increase over the first quarter of
2011. Average one-way international fares posted a 9 percent year-over-year gain in the
second quarter of 2011, to $1,970.
Average rates paid for domestic hotel rooms showed the smallest increase for the 12 months
from the second quarter of 2010 to the same period of 2011 – up just 3 percent, to $156. But
for international trips, the average hotel rate jumped to $258, an 11 percent year-over-year
increase. Hotels are following the lead of airlines in rolling out more fee-based services, and
companies should try to get some of those services included in their corporate rate dealmaking. Companies should focus their approach to negotiations with hotel suppliers for 2012
to obtain the best overall value, rather than simply the lowest base rate. The increase in U.S.
hotel costs varied considerably by market – average rates paid in San Francisco were up 24
percent, for instance, vs. 14 percent in Philadelphia, 12 percent in Seattle, 11 percent in
Cincinnati and 8 percent in Minneapolis.
A study by Replicon, a provider of web-based expense management products, based on data
from 10,000 of its customers’ travelers, determined that air fares in the second quarter
accounted for 40 percent of a company’s overall travel spending — and that business travelers
spent an average of $440 per flight, ―nearly 25 percent more than the average domestic air
fare of $357,‖ according to U.S. government data, Replicon said. It noted that hotel costs
amount to almost 25 percent of trip spending, while ground transportation costs account for
20 percent.
Business Travel News, August 26, 2011