Iceland Express seals distribution deal with Active Hotels

Cambridge, 23 March 2004: Active Hotels, Europe’s leading online hotel reservations provider has signed a partnership agreement with Iceland Express, the newly established low fare airline, operating twice daily flights between Iceland, Denmark and the UK. Tourist traffic to and from Iceland is on the increase, and this agreement opens up a new arena of opportunity. With limited airline competition, Iceland Express has captured a more adventurous, price-sensitive traveller, by offering customers low cost frequent flights. Both inbound and outbound travellers are benefiting from an increased opportunity to travel at an affordable rate. Inbound travel to Iceland is showing a healthy growth rate (*an average of 9% per annum over the last decade) and tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy. The agreement between Active Hotels and Iceland Express will provide value added customer service to all Iceland Express customers. Users on the Iceland Express website can now book their accommodation requirements directly on-line. By clicking on the ‘accommodation’ link, they will gain immediate access to a selection of hotels on the Active Hotels web-site, in their chosen destination. Shane Whaley, Business Development Manager at Active Hotels stated: “Iceland Express is a welcome addition to our rapidly expanding network of key distribution partners, fitting in perfectly with our European growth strategy. We are already seeing good results from this partnership which is allowing travellers to discover Iceland at an attractive price.” Last month Iceland Express celebrated one year in operation, having transported more than 160,000 passengers during this time. The success of the airline has meant that from 1st April 2004 Iceland Express will extend its service to two flights a day to each destination. Inga Birgisdottir, Product Manager at Iceland Express said: “We are very pleased to be working with Active Hotels who provide us with excellent support, acting quickly when the need arises. They provide us with a very impressive on-line management system, giving us up-to-the-minute detailed information on all our hotel reservations. However, the biggest benefit is for the customer, being able to check real-time availability and receive instant booking confirmation. We look forward to a long lasting relationship with Acitve hotels, together providing excellent service to our customers.” Active Hotels’ distribution partner base is rapidly expanding to provide a prestigious network of key industry partners that include BA/Loganair, Lycos, Multimap and Qjump. *Source: Iceland Tourist Board —- Ends — Notes to editors: About Active Hotels Active Hotels is Europe’s leading online reservation provider, offering the best choice of hotels and room prices available across Europe. The company works with over 5,600 leading European hotels, which it promotes across 1,500 distribution partner websites and electronic networks. Active Hotels is rapidly growing its hotel base to reach 10,000 European properties by the end of 2004. The company is predicted to process over €200 million worth of bookings for hotels throughout Europe in 2004. For further information visit: www.activehotels.com Press contact: Mandy Zakhour, European Media Relations and Communications, Active Hotels Tel: +44 (0)1223 578134 Email: [email protected] About Iceland Express Iceland Express is the first low fare carrier offering daily year-round scheduled flights between London/Reykjavik and Copenhagen/Reykjavik. Starting April 1st, 2004, there will be two flights a day to each destination with the addition of another B-737. Iceland Express’ low fare strategy is similar to those of other low fare airlines. There are no length-of-stay restrictions, no Sunday rule, it is easy to book or change bookings on the Internet, one way or return booking and e-tickets. Flight operations are handled for Iceland Express by Astraeus, a British air carrier operator. For further information visit: www.icelandexpress.com Press contact: Ólafur Hauksson, Manager Public Relations, Iceland Express Tel: +354 5 500 627 Email: [email protected]