Airline Group Forecasts 3% More Travelers This Thanksgiving

An estimated 28.5 million passengers are expected to travel on U.S. airlines during a 12-day period for the Thanksgiving holiday, according to airline industry trade group Airlines for America. The organization forecasts 2.38 million passengers per day, about 3 percent or 69,000 more than a year ago, will travel via air between Friday, November  17, and Tuesday, November 28. The busiest dates are forecast to be Sunday, November 26; Wednesday, November 22; and Friday, November 17. To accommodate the increase, airlines expect to add 86,000 more seats in the marketplace each day . Source: BTN

Five Carriers Sign Up for Precheck
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has added five additional carriers to participate in its Precheck expedited screening program: ANA, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Korean Air and Tennessee-based Contour Aviation. According to the TSA, 42 domestic and international carriers now participate in the program. Source: BTN

American Airlines Sees Third Consecutive Quarter of Corporate Market Share Growth

American Airlines has added 16,000 small and midsize corporate accounts since the beginning of the year, growing the segment by 50 percent, SVP of revenue management Don Casey said during the carrier's third-quarter earnings call. The quarter was the third in a row during which the carrier's corporate market share improved, and the average ticket value for corporate customers also rose year over year, Casey said. The carrier additionally has renewed a focus on group sales, which is "seeing good progress," president Robert Isom said. American has invested heavily in its sales team this year and will have 130 new members out in the field by next year, he said. Passenger revenue per available seat mile on the routes rose 2.5 percent year over year, largely due to premium class pricing and "improved share performance with travel management companies," he said. Unit revenue on routes to the U.K. were particularly strong. "However, the overall environment remains challenged, as low-cost carriers grow substantially, resulting in a weaker pricing environment for coach travel," Isom said. Source: Travel Procurement

The Joy of Travel Gets Old

Business travelers across all age groups have more in common than what sets them apart. In BTN’s 2017 Traveler Happiness Survey, younger travelers showed more desire for personal time as compensation for travel, while older travelers expressed a greater need of support during travel disruptions. What's more, personal safety and access to reliable Internet and data connections surfaced among the top five most important trip factors for all age groups. Three other factors appeared across three groups. Clearly, travel buyers have an opportunity to boost traveler satisfaction across generations by concentrating on just a few areas.Reliable Internet topped both the 25-to-35 and 46-to-55 groups' lists of most important trip factors and cracked the top three of the other age groups. The gap between how important travelers said it was and how effective they perceived their companies to be at it was nearly a full point across all groups. Source: BTN

Record Capital Expenditures Expected from U.S. Hotels in 2017
Spending on capital expenditures by the U.S. lodging industry this year is expected to reach a record $6.85 billion, a 3.8 percent year-over-year increase, according to a report from Bjorn Hanson, a clinical professor at the NYU School of Professional Studies Jonathan M. Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism. With U.S. lodging industry revenue per available room projected to grow between 2 percent and 2.5 percent, Hanson said capex "could increase between 60 and 70 percent more than the percent increase in RevPAR." Enhancements to hotel properties, such as converting a tub/shower unit to a walk-in shower or updating the bedding, typically fall under capex. The priorities for capex spending this year include: redesigned lobbies; increased Internet speed and bandwidth; new restaurant and food and beverage concepts; updated in-room amenities, including ironing boards, coffee makers, iPads and decor; larger flat-screen televisions; upgrades to A/V equipment; improved revenue management and property management systems; and equipment to support social media initiatives. Source: BTN

News content licensed from Northstar Travel Media.