Dublin, Ireland 21th September 2008. CarTrawler today announces its latest deal with Romania’s leading low cost carrier, Blue Air. Blue Air, which will have access to CarTrawler’s entire distribution network (450 car rental suppliers in 17,000 locations in 135 countries), is the fifth North European airline to sign up to CarTrawler in the past four months following the leads of MyAir Italy, ClickAir Spain, Norwegian Air Shuttle Norway and Fly Nordic Sweden.

CarTrawler’s content will be integrated into all of Blue Air’s key consumer touch points from October 2008, enabling the airline to sell real-time inventory from all the major car rental suppliers (independent and branded) in the 25 Romanian and European destinations it serves (and beyond).

“A landslide of European airlines now clearly recognises that a multi supplier car rental model generates superior revenue to a single supplier model,” comments Robin White, Sales Manager, CarTrawler. “Blue Air is a pioneering low cost airline and has seen rapid growth since its 2004 launch. This deal with CarTrawler is another innovative step for Blue Air, and one which will generate significant improvements in their non-air ancillary revenue stream.”

Commenting on the deal, Gheorghe Racaru, General Manager of Blue Air says: “Ancillary revenue is a core part of our growth strategy, and car rental forms a significant portion of that. CarTrawler is the perfect partner to enable us to give our customers the right car rental options at critical points throughout the booking flow. We know this deal is going to make a real impact on our bottom line”.

Frequent Flier Credit Cards Generate More Than $4 Billion

for Major U.S. Airlines

- A Report from IdeaWorks

Card issuers, such as American Express, Bank of America, Chase, Citi, and US Bank, are attracted by annual charge volumes estimated to be in excess of $337 billion. Frequent flier programs were launched more than 25 years ago as a tool to identify the highest revenue-producing travelers, establish regular customer communication, and enhance brand loyalty.

In today’s revenue hungry environment, airline management now places a greater demand on the profit-producing power of these programs. Airline marketers readily admit it’s difficult to fully quantify the loyalty effect of frequent flier programs. But you can be assured airline CFOs know the exact ancillary revenue produced from the sale of miles to the largest
program partners - - the card-issuing banks.

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American Airlines Borrows Ryanair Fee Tactics
- An Ancillary Revenue Report from IdeaWorks

American’s recent implementation of checked baggage fees, which appear to have been accepted by passengers, will likely generate annual revenue in excess of $458 million. American Airlines broke with its brethren among legacy airlines when it announced on May 21, 2008 it would charge $15 for the first piece of baggage checked by passengers on US domestic flights. This second part of its “revenue growth effort”1 followed an earlier move when it announced on April 28 it would match other airlines by charging $25 for the second piece. The concept of “free” was relegated to the baggage heap of history; domestic checked baggage on American would now be assessed a fee of $15 for the first piece, $25 for the second, and $100 for the third bag.

Prior to these announcements, fees for checked baggage were only associated with low cost carriers such as Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Airlines in the United States, and Ryanair and easyJet in Europe. American blames “record fuel prices, growing concerns about the economy, and a difficult competitive environment” as the causes behind its unprecedented move. But these new fees merely support a continuing trend in which major US airlines are readily adopting an “a la carte approach” that assesses fees for services provided by an airline beyond the bare bones of a seat on a plane.

This approach is called “ancillary revenue” and it has long been the practice among low cost airlines in Europe and elsewhere in the world. IdeaWorks offers the following definition of ancillary revenue:

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The Ancillary Revenue Guide 2008

Overview (50 pages)

• The Handbook of the Ancillary Revenue Movement

• Analysis of Worldwide Airline Activity with Latest Statistics

Best Practices (47 pages)

• Ryanair - The Godfather of Ancillary Revenue
• Allegiant Air - Viva Las Vegas and the King of Ancillary Revenue
• JetStar Clicks its Way to Ancillary Revenue
• Air Canada Changes the Fare Game with a la Carte Pricing
• SkyEurope Realizes a 172% Revenue Increase from its Enhanced Ancillary Revenue Portfolio
• Kulula Strikes a Unique Balance as a Low Cost Airline and South Africa’s Largest Online Retailer
• Delta Air Lines Takes a Major Approach to Online Sales

Executive Interviews (15 pages)
• Jan Lundborg, CCO, Air Baltic
• Sandra Lindala, Sr. Director, New Revenue Opportunities, Air Canada
• Chuck Jensen, General Manager, Delta.com
• Barry Biffle, SVP & CMO, Spirit Airlines
• Vincenc Marti, Chief Commercial Officer, Vueling
• Bobby Healy, Chief Technical Officer, CarTrawler

Vendor Guide (35 pages)

• Ancillary Revenue Vendor Guide