Active Hotels and Air Polonia sign European distribution deal

Cambridge, 2 September 2004: Active Hotels has signed a distribution deal with Air Polonia, the low cost airline operating out of Poland to European and international destinations. Following Poland’s entry into the EU, this strategic alliance opens up a whole new arena of opportunity to and from the new member states. With the removal of visa barriers, a strong increase in inbound and outbound travel is expected as more people cross borders for leisure or business. In anticipation of this demand, Air Polonia and Active Hotels have joined forces and tailored their products to ensure premium customer service is delivered. A special feature of the agreement includes a brand new Polish language search facility within the Active Hotels site on http://www.airpolonia.com to provide ultimate ease of browsing and booking for Polish users. Marek Slawatyniec, Sales Director at Air Polonia said: “It is important for Air Polonia to cooperate with partners, who enable us to deliver added value to our customers. Access to Active Hotels base on our website is important for passengers who can book on-line not only the flight but also a hotel, a car or buy travellers insurance.” Shane Whaley, European Business Development Manager at Active Hotels stated: “Air Polonia is an exciting addition to our distribution partner base. As Active Hotels continues to grow from strength to strength, this agreement represents a great opportunity to focus on important new markets, in line with our European growth strategy.” In addition, Active Hotels is growing its offering of eastern and central European hotels and on average is adding up to 500 European properties per month to its portfolio. The company is seeing organic growth rates of over 100% per year which is faster than any of its major competitors, and is currently processing reservations at rates corresponding to over 200 million euros per annum. – End – About Active Hotels Active Hotels is Europe’s leading online reservations provider, offering the best choice of hotels and room prices available across Europe via its booking interface: http://www.activereservations.com. The company works with 7,500 leading European hotels, which it promotes across hundreds of distribution partner websites and electronic networks. Active Hotels is rapidly growing its hotel base to reach over 10,000 European properties by the end of 2004 and is currently processing reservations at rates corresponding to over 200 million euros per annum. For further information visit: http://www.activehotels.com Press contact Mandy Zakhour, European Media Relations & Communications, Active Hotels Tel: +44 (0)1223 578134 Email: [email protected] About Air Polonia The history of Air Polonia dates back to 2001 when the Polish Aviation Authorities granted Air Polonia an Air Operator Certificate. Ever since, Air Polonia has been providing various services such as cargo, transport, or aviation training. On 1st April, 2003 at 9:10 a.m. the first Air Polonia Boeing 737-400 took off into the air. This marked the beginning of a new service – charter passenger flights. In answer to the demand of the rapidly growing market, Air Polonia became the first Polish airline to supplement its offer with a new product – regular low-cost passenger flights. For further information visit: http://www.airpolonia.com Press contact Maria Slomkowska, Marketing & PR, Air Polonia Tel: +48 (0)22 33 20 852 Email: [email protected]