Delta Presents International Travel and Tourism Blogger Panel at Puerto Rico BloggerCon 2013

Convention gathers top travel agents from Latin America and the Caribbean for a day of lectures on social media channels as a way to enhance their business practices

SAO PAULO, Brazil and ATLANTA — Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), recognized for its leadership in the application of technology and social media, is this year’s lead sponsor of Puerto Rico BloggerCon 2013. Delta will host a panel of renowned bloggers from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Spain to address the impact of social media on the travel and tourism industry.

In partnership with the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, Delta also will host a group of 70 top travel agencies from Latin America and Puerto Rico, who will participate in the Delta Social Media Boot Camp. These by-invitation-only event features local social media experts exploring how to leverage social media strategies and platforms to enhance travel agents’ business practices.

“Delta is a leader in the application of technology platforms to enhance the customer experience,” said María Fernanda Price, Delta’s regional manager for the Caribbean. “We would like our travel agent partners to be equally successful in the adoption of their preferred social media tools to enhance our business. Blogs and other social media platforms, such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are important because they provide a place to share travel experiences, recommend future destinations and promote internal and external tourism in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.”

Delta Investments in Social Media and Technology

Delta was one of the first airlines to effectively use the social media space for communicating with its customers through its Twitter channel (@Delta) and also developing a customer service communication channel via Twitter (@DeltaAssist) followed by customized Twitter channels for the Latin American markets in Spanish and Portuguese (@DeltaAssist_ES, @DeltaAjuda), and a dedicated Brazil Facebook page.

Delta has invested $140 million in the recent past on technology including its Fly Delta app for iPad featuring a "Glass Bottom Jet, through which customers will have the ability to view the ground below in a unique way that includes maps, social networks and internet content while connected to the Internet on any of Delta’s more than 800 Wi-Fi-equipped aircraft. Delta continues to roll-out improved online tools that enhance the digital customer experience, including the 2012 launches of the new delta.com and the revamped self-service kiosks.

By 2014, Delta will begin offering international Wi-Fi service on its international fleet using high-bandwidth Ku-band capacity satellites to provide global coverage. When complete in 2015, Delta will operate approximately 1,000 Wi-Fi-equipped aircraft in its worldwide fleet.

Partnership to Highlight Tourism in Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rico Tourism Company has partnered with Delta to host visiting travel agents and guest Latin American bloggers on a day filled with active tourism in the East coast, promoting selected local attractions.

“Puerto Rico has much to offer and we are glad to partner with Delta to showcase the Island,” said Mary Joe Laborde, PRTC’s executive marketing director. “We feel this is the right time to look to the South and reach out to new audiences. Bloggers offer us another way to reach out to South and Central America, Spain and Brazil.”

Travel and Tourism Expert Panel

The keynote panel of travel and tourism bloggers includes Jorge Gobbi from Argentina (blogdeviajes.com.ar); Silvia Oliveira from Brazil (matraqueando.com.br); Annie Burbano from Colombia (turistic.co); Jesús Alonso from Mexico (travelreportmx.com); and María Victoria Rodríguez from Spain (elproximoviaje.com).

“Having Delta as a partner provides additional depth to BloggerCon because of their contribution in the arena of travel and tourism, as well as the partnership they bring with the PRTC. The keynote panel is very much in tune with this year’s theme: The New Entrepreneurs,” said Puerto Rico BloggerCon founder José Hernández Falcón. “Some of the bloggers who will be participating in the panel have a huge following on Twitter. Take for example our guest blogger from Mexico; he can reach over 220,000 people on his Twitter channel. Think of the possibilities to communicate all that Puerto Rico has to offer and to share what Puerto Rican bloggers are achieving.”

“Delta has been part of Puerto Rican history for 60 years. Our commitment to the economic development of the Island via tourism has withstood the test of time and we continue to respond and adapt to Puerto Ricans’ travel needs,” said Price.

The Fifth annual Puerto Rico BloggerCon will be held on Saturday September 7, 2013 at the Ignacio Morales Amphitheater at University of Turabo in Caguas.

About Puerto Rico BloggerCon

Founded in 2009 by José Hernández Falcón, the Puerto Rico BloggerCon is the largest gathering of bloggers and social media influencers in the Caribbean. Its main purpose is to provide a space to share best practices, network and highlight success stories related to the use of social media as a fundamental tool to achieve communications, business, social and corporate social responsibility goals.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta is working to become the best U.S. airline in Latin America and the Caribbean and was just recognized with the Best Airline to North America award by Prêmio Destaque Companhia de Viagem, by Grupo Companhia. As part of that goal Delta has established a long-term exclusive alliance with GOL Línhas Aereas Inteligentes investing more than US $100 million in GOL. Likewise, Delta has invested more than US $65 million in Aeroméxico as part of a long-term exclusive commercial alliance and entered a code sharing agreement with Aerolíneas Argentinas solidifying its footprint in Latin America. Executive Travel magazine recognized Delta with the Gold Leading Edge Award for the Best Flight Experience to Mexico. Delta provides service to 28 countries and 44 destinations in the region offering more than 1,200 weekly flights between Latin America/Caribbean and the U.S. Spanish speaking Delta customers can receive real-time, on-the-go travel assistance in Spanish and Portuguese through its Twitter channels @DeltaAssist_ES and @DeltaAjuda 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST. Brazilian customers can also access Delta´s dedicated Brazil Facebook page visiting http://www.facebook.com/DeltaAirLinesBrasil.

Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. Delta was named by Fortune magazine as the most admired airline worldwide in its 2013 World’s Most Admired Companies airline industry list, topping the list for the second time in three years. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 327 destinations in 63 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry’s leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. Delta is investing more than $3 billion in airport facilities and global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on delta.com, Twitter @Delta, Google.com/+Delta and Facebook.com/delta.