Norwalk, CT. and San
Francisco, CA. – April 15, 2008 – Priceline.com and
Virgin America, the new California-based carrier aimed at making flying good
again, today announced a new multi-year distribution partnership agreement.
Under the partnership agreement, Priceline.com will have access to all of Virgin
America’s published fares, schedules and inventory.
“With attractive fares and upscale
in-flight amenities, Virgin America is becoming one of the nation’s most popular
and fastest-growing airlines,” said Chris Soder, President, North American
Travel, for Priceline.com. “We believe Virgin America’s unique travel
experience is an excellent fit for Priceline.com’s smart customer base, and we
are pleased to add their flights and fares to our
program.”
Virgin America’s brand new planes
feature a host of innovative guest features, including 25 on-demand movies, live
TV, videogames, 3,000 MP3 tracks, on-board seat-to-seat chat and even the
ability to order food and drink right from the video touch-screen at every
seatback. Full terms of the agreement between Priceline.com and Virgin America
were not disclosed.
“Priceline.com customers are savvy
travelers who demand the best value when making their trip choices,” said David
Cush, President and CEO of Virgin America. “Virgin America’s mission is to make
flying good again by bringing consumers attractive fares and a unique,
top-of-the-line flying experience. We’re thrilled to be partnering with such an
important distribution channel and we think that Priceline.com’s customers will
respond positively to the high value proposition we’re bringing to the market.”
Launched in August 2007, Virgin
America currently flies to seven cities with daily flights from: SFO to LAX, SFO
to JFK, SFO to SAN, SFO to IAD, SFO to LAS, LAX to JFK, LAX to IAD, SFO to SEA
and LAX to SEA. In addition to these non-stop markets, Virgin America also
offers convenient connecting flights from Las Vegas, San Diego, and Seattle to
New York and Washington.
About
Priceline.com® Incorporated
Priceline.com Incorporated (Nasdaq:
PCLN) www.priceline.com provides online travel services in 23 languages in over
60 countries in Europe, North America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Priceline.com operates Booking.com, a leading international online hotel
reservation service, priceline.com, a leading U.S.
online travel service for value-conscious leisure travelers, and Agoda.com, an
Asian online hotel reservation service. Priceline.com believes that Booking.com
is Europe’s largest and fastest growing hotel
reservation service, with a network of affiliated Web sites. Booking.com
operates in over 60 countries in 18 languages and offers its customers access to
over 41,000 participating hotels worldwide. In the U.S.,
priceline.com gives customers more ways to save on their airline tickets, hotel
rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises than any other Internet travel
service. In addition to getting great published prices, leisure travelers can
narrow their searches using priceline.com’s TripFilter advanced search
technology, create packages to save even more money, and take advantage of
priceline.com’s famous Name Your Own Price® service, which can deliver the
lowest prices available. Priceline.com also operates the following travel
websites: Travelweb.com, Lowestfare.com, RentalCars.com and BreezeNet.com.
Priceline.com also has a personal finance service that offers home mortgages,
refinancing and home equity loans through an independent licensee.
Priceline.com licenses its business model to independent licensees, including
priceline mortgage and certain international
licensees.
About Virgin
America:
As San Francisco’s hometown airline, Virgin
America will serve as many as 10 cities within a year of operation, and up to 30
cities within five years. Virgin America’s base of operations is San Francisco International Airport’s ultra-modern, spacious and
convenient International Terminal. The airline’s brand-new Airbus A320-family
aircraft offer guests their own interactive in-flight entertainment systems,
power outlets for laptops and other electronic devices and a host of other
innovative features aimed at making flying good again. In Zagat's 2007 Global
Airlines Survey of frequent fliers, the airline was ranked #1 among domestic
carriers for quality in First Class and #2 for quality in Main Cabin. To learn
more: www.virginamerica.com