Arlington, VA, December 20, 2007 – The Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) has added more than twenty carriers in the past year reaching a total of 168 carrier participants at the end of November. Seventeen of the new carriers are not only headquartered outside the United States but also operate completely outside of the U.S. This growing class of off-line carrier participant sees their ARC participation as key to tapping the rich potential of the U.S. travel agency distribution system in both the business and leisure travel sectors.

Confirming ARC’s value to the global carrier, Kingfisher Airlines, a recent new entrant to the ARC distribution system, said "As India's largest Airline group, Kingfisher Airlines looks for constant innovation to drive our expansion," according to Mr. Sudhan Thomas, Kingfisher Airlines Regional Director - The Americas. "As an all e-ticket carrier with significant growth expectations, ARC distribution in the USA made perfect sense and a decision which proved fortuitous given the phenomenal increases we have since realized in our US travel agency volume," added Thomas.

ARC’s operating statistics through the end of November also reflect the importance of the global market to the U.S. travel agency distribution system. They illustrate an ongoing trend of growing international sales as a percentage relative to total volume with international fares now accounting for 46.4% of total fares for the first eleven months of the year. This compares to 43.2% just a year ago and 36.1% at this point in 2003.

"ARC has been sending the message to the airline industry that the ARC agency channel is a more attractive way to distribute their products,” says Mike Premo, ARC Vice President Marketing, Sales & Customer Care. “ARC's cooperative work with agencies and system providers over the past few years has served to reduce fraud, lower costs, and make sales data available more quickly. This, along with the overall high quality of the ARC agencies and the customers they serve sends the message that ARC participation provides a valuable return. The growth in new carrier participation makes clear that this message is getting through."

ARC leads the industry in e-ticket processing with more than 97% of the transaction volume being electronically ticketed and a state-of-the-art fully electronic and PCI-certified settlement and processing system. This is coupled with the unique resources of ARC COMPASS© – the data warehouse that is the source for a growing number of innovative data analysis tools for all parts of the industry – and is what continues to provide singular value to all of ARC’s industry customers that seek faster, better, and more cost-effective solutions.

AccessRail • Adria Airways • Aegean Airlines • Aer Lingus • Aero Continente • Aeroflot Russian • AeroGal • Aerolineas Argentinas • Aeromexico • AeroPostal Airlines • Aerosvit Airlines • AeroSur • Aircalin • AirOne • Air Astana • Air Berlin • Air Canada • Air Caraibes • Air China • Air Europa • Air Fiji • Air France • Air Greenland • Air India • Air Jamaica • Air Malta • Air Namibia • Air New Zealand • Air Pacific • Air Plus Comet • Air Sahara • Air Seychelles • Air Tahiti • Air Tahiti Nui • AirTran Airways • Air Transat • Alaska Airlines • Alitalia • All Nippon Airways • Aloha Airlines • America West Airlines • American Airlines • American Trans Air • AMTRAK • Asiana Airlines • Austrian Airlines • Aviacsa Airlines • Avianca • Azerbaijan Airlines • Lineas Aereas Azteca S.A. de C.V. • Bahamasair • Bangkok Airways • Bellview Airlines • Big Sky Airlines • Boston-Maine Airways • British Airways • British Midland Airways • BWIA Int’l. Airways • Caribbean Star Airlines • Caribbean Sun Airlines • Cathay Pacific Airways • Cayman Airways • China Airlines • China Eastern Airlines • China Southern Airlines • Continental Airlines • COPA • Croatia Airlines • CSA Czech Airlines • Cyprus Airways • Delta Air Lines • Dragonair • Egyptair • El Al Israel Airlines • Emirates • Eos Airlines • ERA Aviation • Etihad Airways • Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise • Eurofly, S.P.A. • Eurostar • EVA Airways • ExpressJet Airways • Finnair OY • Frontier Airlines • Garuda Indonesian Airways • Georgia Airways • Ghana International Airlines • Great Lakes Aviation • Gulf Air • Hahn Air • HMY Airlines • Hawaiian Airlines • Hong Kong Airlines • Iberia • Icelandair • Indian Airlines • Island Air • Japan Airlines • Jat Airways • Jet Airways • Kingfisher Airlines • Korean Air • Kuwait Airways • L’Avion • LACSA Airlines • Lan Argentina • Lan Chile Airlines • LanEcuador • Lan Peru Airlines • LIAT (1974) Ltd. • Lot Polish Airlines • LTU International Airways • Lufthansa • Malaysia Airlines • Malev Hungarian Airlines • Martinair Holland • MAT Macedonian Airlines • MAXjet Airways • Meridiana Airlines • Mesa Air Lines • Mexicana Airlines • Middle East Airlines • Midwest Express Airlines • Montenegro Airlines • North American Airlines • Northwest Airlines • Olympic Airways • Pacific Wings • Pakistan Int’l. Airlines • PENAIR • Philippine Airlines • Polynesian Airlines • Qantas Airways • Qatar Airways • Royal Air Maroc • Royal Jordanian Airlines • Santa Barbara Airlines • SATA International • Saudi Arabian Airlines • Scandinavian Airlines • Singapore Airlines • Slok Air International • SS Brussels Airlines • South African Airways • Southwest Airlines • Spanair, S.A. • Spirit Airlines • Sri Lankan Airlines • Sun Country Airlines • SWISS • TACA Int’l. Airlines • TACV-Cabo Verde • TAM Airlines • TAP-Air Portugal • TAROM Romanian Air Transport • Thai Airways Int’l. • TransAero AIrlines • Turkish Airlines • Ukraine International Airlines • United Airlines • US Airways • US Helicopter • USA 3000 Airlines • Varig Airlines • VIA Rail Canada • Vietnam Airlines • Vintage Props & Jets • Virgin Atlantic • Virgin Nigeria • Winair • XTRA Airways

About ARC
ARC is the premier provider of financial settlement solutions and data and analytical services for the travel industry. Airlines, travel agencies, corporate travel departments, railroads, and other travel suppliers process more than $77 billion annually through ARC’s world-class settlement system, making it the financial backbone of travel distribution. ARC COMPASS®, the leading, trusted source for travel transaction information, powers data and analytical tools that help ARC customers make confident business decisions. ARC is an airline-owned company that builds on values of integrity, teamwork, innovation, cost-effectiveness, and excellence. For more information, please visit http://www.arccorp.com.