ARC REPORTS DROPS IN VOIDS AND UNREPORTED SALES

Arlington, VA, August 6, 2003 - ARC reported today that in the two months of a new, shorter time period within which ARC-accredited travel agencies and corporate travel departments (CTD) can void transactions, there has been a drop in the rate of voids and a decline in the number of unreported sales.

The decrease in voids and unreported sales indicate the success of ARC's Business Process Improvement (BPI) initiative, launched in early June to limit ticket voiding errors and reduce the possibility of fraud.  The number of ARC-accredited retail locations voiding five percent or less of reported transactions has more than doubled under the new void procedures, growing to more than 45 percent as compared to just over 20 percent prior to BPI.  During the same time frame, the overall void rate fell from 6.8 percent to 4.6 percent and continues to decline.

"Once again, the travel agency industry has proven its ability to adopt a sound business practice," said David Collins, CTC, ARC president & chief executive officer.  "In the business of travel, profit margins are often slim, making accurate, timely control of sales and related transactions absolutely key to the success of the entire industry.  I am pleased that travel agents have adapted to the new void procedures that will benefit the industry at large."

The new void procedures allow for the voiding of an erroneous transaction via the Global Distribution Systems (GDS) or through ARC's Interactive Agent Reporting (IAR) tool on the day of sale or the following day.  An additional calendar day is available for agencies and CTDs to reconcile their GDS voids to their IAR reports and, if necessary, correct or re-enter a void through IAR only.

Within this system, 97 percent of all voids are successfully completed using the GDS on the date of sale or the following day, with only 3 percent of voiding, representing one-tenth of a percent of transactions, occurring through IAR.

As the overall void rate has dropped, unreported sales, historically the most costly consequence for the industry of voids, have declined nearly 50 percent.

"While the pursuit of fraudulent voiding can be a lengthy analytical and investigative process, we are encouraged by these early indicators that the fraud losses are being stemmed," said Kathi Argiropoulos, ARC vice president - travel agency services and general counsel.  "Such success requires cooperation across the industry, as we are seeing today."

As further evidence of the cooperative atmosphere, Argiropoulos reports that the "mutuality" - the mutual respect of waiver rules among carriers and agents - has thus far proven to be a non-issue according to preliminary reports from travel agency industry representatives to ARC's steering committees.