THIRD QUARTER TRAVEL AGENT SALES STABILIZE AT 2002 LEVELS

Arlington, VA, October 16, 2003 - Travel agent sales settled by ARC in the third quarter of 2003 have returned to 2002 levels. This stabilization follows two quarters in which travel agent sales were down each month compared to the previous year, falling to as much as 17 percent in April.

In September, the total dollar volume of sales remained steady at one percent above the September 2002 total, and domestic fares grew by five percent. The average weekly sales per location continued to grow, exceeding last September's average by 13 percent.*

"Given the significant challenges faced by our industry this year, this milestone is encouraging," said David R. B. Collins, CTC, ARC president and Chief Executive Officer. "I am hopeful that this will provide a foundation for growth during the balance of the year."

ARC's current and archived monthly statistics are available at http://www.arccorp.com/news/news_sales_doc_stats.html.

* Corrections made in November 2003 changed this figure.  Weekly sales per location in September 2003 grew 17 percent compared to September 2002.  For more information, see the full statistics for September at http://www.arccorp.com/news/news_sales_doc_stats.html.