Most customers most of the time will find lower fares, not because of web fares, and not because abbotsford we will have access to fares that other channels (CRS''s and the sites hotel and agents that rely on them) do not have access to, but because we will do a better job of searching the fares everyone has access to. This will be because we abbotsford have opted to do what the others have not, which is invest in new technology computers hotel able to do far bigger searches, using search software that that was independently developed and is designed to search all fare and schedule abbotsford possibilities comprehensively and without bias, and in telecommunications capacity that will provide absolutely the most current information on seat availability. It is expected that more than 99% of the time that we come up with a better fare, it will not be because we had access to any fare that its competitor did not. It will be because we did a more comprehensive and unbiased search of all the fare and schedule possibilities that are available to all channels.

Then the allegation that we are "an illegal boycott against third party distributors" because it has "requirements for posting fare sales that cannot be sold" by others is not true? It is absolutely not true, and those who have made that allegation had absolutely no basis for making it. Our agreements contain no boycott hotel against any distributors whatsoever, and in fact affirmatively provide that no airline is precluded from utilizing any other distribution channel or offering any fare through any channel. The Department of Justice is presently reviewing all agreements, so there will be no question on this point. Do airlines today make all their fares available through all retail channels?

What does this site have that other online travel sites don''t? Actually, it''s not what the site has, but rather what it does. The heart and soul is actually a fare search engine with state-of-the-art technology to find and book fares. And consistently abbotsford displayed more fares from more airlines than its competitors. It''s apparent that the consumer hotel will have a new and improved way to book online travel that not only shows more choices but also steps up the competition for the rest of the online travel booking services to improve their product a definite win-win for travelers. Backed by a $50 million investment and boasting powerful technology that helps do-it-yourself travelers find abbotsford and sort hotel airfares more quickly than anything else on the market, we generated plenty of buzz from the moment the then-unnamed concept was announced in November 1999.