ARC RELEASES APRIL OPERATING STATISTICS

Arlington, VA, May 16, 2003 - E-ticketing as a percentage of total transactions processed by ARC rose to new record heights in April 2003. The average for the month was 82.1 percent.

"The rise in e-tickets processed by ARC accredited travel agents is certainly reflective of the strong interest in e-ticketing among carriers. Moreover, it is likely to also be an indication of customer comfort with the advantages of using e-tickets over paper tickets," says ARC spokesperson, Allan Mutén. "ARC continues to focus attention on opportunities to enhance the e-ticketing reporting process with particular emphasis on assuring synchronization and integrity between the agents and ARC's electronic reporting system and the individual carrier e-ticket databases," he added.

Other information in ARC's monthly operating statistics reveal sales and fares still low compared to a year ago - especially international fares, which were 34 percent below April 2002. However, despite the low dollar value, average transactions by agent location remains quite strong at a weekly average of 106 transactions per location. This is the same average as a month ago but seven percent more than a year ago.

Archived copies of ARC's monthly statistics can be found on ARC's Web site at http://www.arccorp.com/news/news_sales_doc_stats.html.