The FINANCIAL -- The Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the industry trade association for the leading U.S. airlines, on November 9 said that it expects a 4 percent year-over-year decrease in the number of passengers[1] traveling on U.S. airlines during the 2009 Thanksgiving holiday season[2], despite deep discounting over the past several months.

The FINANCIAL -- Mexicana becomes part of oneworld at midnight tonight – adding Mexico and Central America’s leading airline to the world’s leading quality airline alliance.

The FINANCIAL -- Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has taken the top award at this year’s World Travel Awards (WTA), being voted World’s Leading Airline by more than 180,000 travel industry professionals from over 175 countries.

The FINANCIAL -- Hilton Hotels is ready for its close-up. In anticipation of one of the most talked about film releases this year, the hotelier is giving guests a chance to live the life of a global traveler with the Hilton Up in the Air Sweepstakes celebrating Paramount Pictures’ upcoming film about a frequent business traveler whose life on the road is threatened just as he is on the cusp of reaching ten million frequent flyer miles and after he’s met the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams.

The FINANCIAL -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL), which recently joined Star Alliance, announced on November 9 that it will move its airport operations at both Paris/Charles de Gaulle and Barcelona this month as part of its continuing effort to provide easy connections between its flights and those of other Star Alliance airlines.