HEADLINE NEWS.

The DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) said U.S. domestic airline traffic for the first seven months of this year was up 7.9 percent over the same period last year. Airlines carried 367.8 million domestic passengers during this time, up from 340 million last year. Meanwhile, revenue passenger miles rose 11 percent and available seat miles were up 8.5 percent. Southwest carried the most passengers, 47.5 million, while Atlanta was the busiest airport, boarding 22.2 million passengers. Oct 14, 2004

New research from the European Travel Commission affirms a continuing growth in U.S. travel to Europe. Overall traffic for the top nine carriers to Europe was up an average 13.5 percent through September. Through July US traffic to Europe was up 17.5 percent compared to the same period last year. Oct 13, 2004

Surging oil prices will "wipe out profits" of European airlines this year, the continent's largest airline industry association said Tuesday. Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus, director-general of the Association of European Airlines, told a conference the group's members would, at best, "break even" this year, despite an expected 8.5 percent rise in passenger traffic. If the prediction is confirmed, it will mark the sixth straight year that European airlines have lost money. Last year, AEA 31 members lost a combined euro1.25 billion (US$1.5 billion). The European airline industry has been struggling to recover since the downturn in global travel sparked by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The Iraq war and the deadly SARS virus have compounded its woes, Schulte-Strathaus said. Several carriers, including Air France and British Airways , were recently forced to make big increases in their fuel surcharges on passenger airfares. Oct 12, 2004

Airlines Hike Fares, Brace for Turbulence As Oil Price Soars Over $53-A- Barrel Mark. Airlines the world over are raising fares in response to the latest oil price hike, which threatens to choke off a gradual recovery in air travel and deepen the woes of carriers already struggling with bankruptcy. British Airways became the latest airline to increase prices last Friday after American Airlines raised one-way domestic flights by US$5 earlier this week, prompting United Airlines and Continental Airlines to follow suit. BA said it was adding 20 pounds (euro29, US$36) to the price of a long-haul round trip as light sweet crude soared back over the US$53 mark in New York last Friday. The latest round of fare hikes could dampen demand for air travel, industry watchers warn, just as passenger traffic figures were beginning to recover from a series of setbacks. Air France and Germany's Lufthansa are among carriers that have scaled back their short-term growth forecasts, reflecting expectations of more muted demand. If a prolonged rise in oil prices triggers a broader global economic slowdown, airlines will suffer even more as nonessential business travel and ambitious holiday plans are cut back. Oct 8, 2004

The American Stock Exchange's Airline Index rebounded from a sharp downturn on Oct. 5 2004, climbing 1.6 percent to 44.61 points in recent activity. Although low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways Inc. reported higher September traffic, the company's overall plane occupancy declined 3.6 percentage points to 76.6 percent, JetBlue said Wednesday. Shares were recently up 14 cents, or less than 1 percent, at $21.24 on the Nasdaq. Investors pulled back from U.S. Airways Group Inc. ahead of news that its pilots' union will vote on a new contract with as much as $300 million in concessions, including an 18 percent pay cut. U.S. Airways last month filed for its second bankruptcy in four years, and is seeking about $1 billion in annual savings as the carrier attempts to reformat as a low-cost airline. Its shares fell 13 percent, or 18 cents, to $1.20 recently on the bulletin-board exchange. Oct 6, 2004

IATA (International Air Transport Association) has published figures for the first eight months of 2004 over 2003 which show increases of 18.7% for international passenger traffic and 14.2% for international cargo traffic. The high growth figures for the period are partially exaggerated by the comparison to a period in 2003 which was severely depressed due to the SARS crisis. Nonetheless indications of healthy traffic growth are clearly evident in the August performance. Year-on- year for August, passenger traffic grew by 10.8% while freight was up 13.6%. More capacity is now entering all major markets but the passenger load factor globally remained at a relatively high level of 78.3% for the month of August 2004. http://www.iata.org Oct 4, 2004

AfricaTours, South African Airways, South Africa Tourism, and some of the top properties in Southern Africa, are hosting an exclusive Southern Africa educational lunch for top travel agents in the Chicago area on October 20 2004 at Tru Restaurant. At the Tru lunch, some of the best properties in Southern Africa will be in one place at one time, an opportunity for agents to educate themselves on African travel opportunities, from safaris to lodges, in Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Among the products to be displayed are AfricaTours; Africa in Style; African Pride; Cape Grace and The Victoria Falls Hotel; The Luxury Collection (Arabella Sheraton Grand Hotel and Western Cape & Spa); Sanctuary Lodges; South African Airways and Sun International. Call 800-235-3692. Oct 14, 2004

Air France chose the elegantly splendid residence of the French Ambassador to unveil last week for the British travel trade and serious customers their new and most impressive first and club class products. Called L'Espace Premiere (first class) and L'Espace Affaires (J class), they have been introduced on the CDG's Tokyo route and will be subsequently rolled out over the whole system during the next six months. Designed by UK safety seat specialist Britax both recline to 180 degrees. With first class the footstool doubles as a seat and storage area. You can dine at a table with a companion who also has a seat belt in case of turbulence. The very attractive business class seat allows the passenger to stretch out into the base of the seat in front and AF says that even the full recline will not affect other passengers. Three star chef Guy Martin has created the menus which are complimented by a wine list from one of the world's top sommeliers, Philippe Faure-Brac. AF now has to prove in the air how good it is. Flying at the Front Ende is happy to oblige. http://www.airfrance.com Sep 27, 2004

AirTran Airways resumed its flights from Atlanta to Grand Bahama Island on Thursday, and intends to resume its flights from Baltimore/Washington Airport on Nov. 18. The airport was closed on Sept. 3 2004 because of damages suffered under Hurricane Frances. David Johnson, president of the Grand Bahama Island Tourism Board, said, "After the devastating impact of the recent hurricanes, it will be a big boost to the islands of the Bahamas to restore service at Freeport International Airport." Oct 14, 2004

American has discounted Business Class fares from certain U.S. cities to destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico and Latin America, saying this is not a short-term sale. They are only available from AA.com. The best fares are available on a 14-day advance purchase basis, with the prices going up with only seven, three or no days of advance purchase. An example of the savings in the Dallas/Fort Worth-Caracas, Venezuela, market shows the current unrestricted fare at $1,624, the 14-day advance at $478, the seven-day at $528, the three-day at $578, and no advance at $628. In the Miami-Cancun market, the price has dropped from $675 to $478 for the 14-day advance, and in the New York-San Juan, Puerto Rico market, from $842 to $274. Oct 8, 2004

American and American Eagle are offering great low fares for fall and winter travel between Chicago and select destinations within the United States and Canada. In addition, other great fares are available from Chicago to points in Mexico, the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Latin America, Europe and to Tokyo. These sale fares are effective for travel from Oct. 20, 2004, through Feb. 28, 2005 (except for select dates during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's holidays). Tickets must be purchased no later than Oct. 22, 2004. Other restrictions apply. For complete rules and restrictions, see the terms and conditions below, or visit American's AA.com Web site. Here are samples of American and American Eagle's low fares to or from Chicago. Fare amounts shown are round trip, available on AA.com, and are effective for travel Monday through Thursday. Slightly higher fares apply for travel other days of the week. Oct 13, 2004

Apple Vacations will launch nonstop service from Denver to Huatulco, Mexico beginning Jan. 1 and running through April 30 2005. The flights, operated by Allegiant Air and using an MD 83 aircraft with 150 seats, will depart Saturday afternoons for 7 and 14 night stays. Apple's Huatulco program includes seven resort hotels. Apple's "Sunshine Guarantee" promotion is available to all clients traveling through March 31. In the event there are three or more consecutive hours of rain on any given day between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM, clients will be reimbursed $50 per guest with a maximum of $100 per room, per day. Call 800-365- 2775. Oct 14, 2004

ATA Vacations is offering nonstop service to Cozumel, Punta Cana and St. Thomas. The new nonstop service to Cozumel is a Saturday departure from Chicago-Midway. The new Punta Cana service, also from Chicago-Midway, is being offered for both Wednesday and Saturday departures. The new St. Thomas service is a Saturday departure from Indianapolis. Sample vacations to Punta Cana include round-trip, nonstop airfare; hotel accommodations; hotel taxes; airport/hotel transfers; and 24-hour traveler assistance. Vacations begin at $674 from Chicago-Midway and $734 from Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and South Bend, Ind.; Grand Rapids and Flint, Mich.; Moline, Ill.; and Milwaukee. Vacations include three- night accommodations at the Allegro Punta Cana by Occidental, complimentary horseback riding and scuba diving clinics. Prices are valid for Wednesday departures Feb. 2-March 16, 2005, when travel is booked by Dec. 18, 2004. Various restrictions apply. Call 800-442-8952 for more information. Oct 8, 2004

Austrian Airlines Group announced a new level of interest in Slovak Airlines. The Austrian Airlines Group is already cooperating with Slovak Airlines on the basis of code-sharing. Mr. Vagn Soerensen, the CEO of the Austrian Airlines Group announced Oct. 1 2004 in Vienna, in regard to Austrian's interest in Slovak Airlines, said, "The Slovakian Ministry of Transport, Slovak Airlines and the Austrian Airlines Group have agreed to intensify Austrian's cooperation with Slovak Airlines. Therefore, we are jointly looking forward to a positive development of this cooperation. We are interested in a future shareholding stake in Slovak Airlines as our local strategic partner in order to further develop the Slovakian airline market in both the business and leisure travel categories. Our strong interest in the Slovakian market has been reinforced by the successful implementation of Austrian's daily, nonstop service from Bratislava, Slovakia, to London, Paris and Brussels, which began May 1, 2004." Oct 1, 2004

Austrian Airlines and the Vienna International Airport announced jointly the official inauguration of the all-new City Airport Train (CAT) that provides high-speed service between the Vienna International Airport and Vienna's city center in just 16 minutes, about one-half of the normal driving time (25 to 35 minutes) compared to a taxi or bus. Trains depart every half-hour for service between the airport and Vienna's centrally located City Air Terminal, which offers immediate access to local taxis, the city subway and city buses. The cost is 9 Euros (about US$10.50) one-way for adults (over age 15) and 5 Euros (about US$7) one-way for children. Children's ticket prices are for ages 6 up to 15. Youth under 15 years of age who are accompanied by an adult can always travel free of charge. For passenger convenience, one-way tickets can be purchased onboard "for cash only" in Euros. Round-trip tickets, which can be purchased in advance on-line, are 15 Euros (about US$19) for adults and 8 Euros (about US$10) for children. For more detailed information go to the English-language website for both viewable and downloadable/printable maps of Vienna, click on "Vienna Info." http://www.cityairporttrain.com//home//langen Sep 30, 2004

A new interurban train line will start servicing Ben Gurion Airport on Oct. 10 2004. Sixty-four trains will run daily roundtrip service between Nahariya-Haifa-Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion Airport. Several late night trains have also been scheduled to accommodate redeye departures to and from the U.S. The station is located next to the new passenger terminal at Ben Gurion Airport, which is scheduled to open in November 2004. Until then, shuttles will transport passengers from the current terminal. Oct 8, 2004

British Airways is launching a major new recruitment drive for its Executive Club, offering new members the chance to fly to Europe for free. The airline is offering new members 12,000 bonus BA Miles, enough for a return flight to Paris, Geneva, Berlin, plus other selected European destinations. The offer is open to new members who book and fly a return flight between now and November 19 from Birmingham, Manchester, Gatwick or Bristol on selected tickets. Meanwhile, BA has also launched a six-month trial of a text message service called Flight Tracker, which allows customers to receive the latest information on the status of their flight while on the move. http://www.ba.com/signmeup Oct 11, 2004

China Southern Airlines announced that it will increase its Boeing 777 service between Australia to China from four per week to daily service starting December 2, 2004. The increase coincides with the fourth anniversary of the airline's commencement of flights from Sydney to China, which began with three weekly services in December 2000. Effective November 5th, China Southern will add a fifth weekly Boeing 777-200 flight from Sydney to Guangzhou, departing every Friday at 10:50 hours (Australian Daylight Saving Time). This will increase to a daily Sydney service starting December 2 for the remainder of the northern summer schedule period, which ends March 26, 2005. The airline's Thursday and Sunday services from Australia will continue to originate in Melbourne, then via Sydney to Guangzhou, departing Melbourne at 08:20 hours (Daylight Saving Time). All China Southern flights from Australia will arrive at the new Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport at 17:05 hours (local time), connecting seamlessly with onward services to dozens of destinations throughout China, including Beijing and Shanghai. The new schedule would provide much-needed extra capacity between Australia and China during the peak Christmas/New Year and Chinese New Year periods and it will also help meet the growing demand for leisure and business travel between the two countries as well as provide additional 777 freight capacity. China is becoming increasingly popular with Australian tourists, with significant growth occurring in both package holiday programs and independent leisure travel. Oct 11, 2004

Delta will begin daily nonstop service to Berlin from New York-Kennedy Airport on May 2 2005. It will be the only carrier offering nonstop flights from the U.S. to the German capital. The flights will be operated with 767-300ER aircraft in a two-class configuration. Delta currently operates six daily nonstop flights to Germany. From JFK it flies to Frankfurt, from Atlanta to Stuttgart, Munich and Frankfurt, and from Cincinnati, to Frankfurt. Oct 8, 2004

Delta will provide customers with a convenient link between the financial capital of the United States and the capital of Germany with new, daily nonstop service between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Berlin Tegel Airport beginning May 2, 2005. With this new service, Delta will be the only carrier serving Berlin non stop from the U.S. Delta will operate its daily nonstop flight between New York-JFK and Berlin with Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, with the capacity to carry up to 204 passengers in a two-class configuration and featuring Delta's award-winning BusinessElite service. Delta already serves Germany with six daily nonstop flights from the U.S. From New York-Kennedy, Delta currently offers daily service to Frankfurt. From Atlanta, the carrier offers one daily flight to Stuttgart and Munich, and two daily flights to Frankfurt. From Cincinnati, Delta offers daily service to Frankfurt. This year Delta is celebrating its 25th anniversary of serving Germany from the U.S. Oct 8, 2004

Emirates is offering its First Class and Business Class passengers a new Good Morning London service at both Heathrow and Gatwick airports. Passengers originating from Dubai and flying to Gatwick may shower in a changing room, eat a continental breakfast and obtain a First Class one- way rail ticket to Victoria Station. They will be using the Delta arrivals lounge in the Le Meridien Hotel. At Heathrow, there are 14 shower rooms with changing facilities, a valet to press suits, a First Class ticket to Paddington Station and continental breakfast. Passengers will use United's lounge on the balcony of the arrival hall of Terminal 3. Passengers also can opt instead to use the airline's chauffeur service, which must be booked at the time of reservation. Oct 13, 2004

Eurostar is busy promoting its high speed services from central London in 2007 and has confirmed that no final decision has been made whether to close its existing Waterloo terminal when St. Pancras International opens. Fastest London to Brussels journey time will be 1 hour 53 minutes whilst the target to Paris is 2 hours 15 minutes. However some trains will stop at Stratford, Dartford and Ashford. Onboard wi-fi services will be introduced on all Eurostar trains next year. The new premium class coach interior can be seen on the ABTN web site. http://www.eurostar.com Oct 4, 2004

Horizon Air has simplified its entire fare structure and eliminated the weekend-stay rule, on all fares to all cities the airline serves. Now all of Horizon's fares, including its lowest regular prices, sale fares and Web-only specials, have only a one-night minimum stay or none at all. Gone, too, are maximum-stay restrictions and fuel surcharges. Horizon's latest and final wave of fare simplification has also resulted in many new, lower fares between cities Horizon serves in the Northwest. The simplified fare structure also applies to cities Horizon serves in partnership with Alaska Airlines. While everyone can benefit from the simplified fare structure, banishment of the weekend-stay rule will be especially appealing to business travelers. That's because they can qualify for a lower fare without having to stay past a Friday or Saturday before returning. "Now, whenever and wherever you fly Horizon or Alaska, you can have a low fare without having to give up part of your weekend to get it," said Patrick Zachwieja, Horizon's vice president of marketing and planning. Reservations and tickets are available at www.horizonair.com, by calling 1-800-547-9308, or through any travel agent. Horizon now guarantees that travelers will always find the lowest fare on www.horizonair.com. If a traveler finds a fare online that's more than US$5 lower for the same Horizon itinerary than through www.horizonair.com, the company will refund the difference. Travelers that purchase their tickets at www.horizonair.com also earn 1,000 Bonus Miles and avoid the booking fees that most major travel sites charge. Oct 14, 2004

Icelandair is pleased to announce the opening of its sixth North American gateway in San Francisco, California. This will be the airline's first direct service from the west coast, with current gateways in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Boston, New York-JFK, Baltimore/Washington-BWI and Orlando. San Francisco operations will be launched on May 18 and continue through October 15, 2005, with two weekly flights May 18 &endash; June 1 and September 1 &endash; October 15 (Wednesdays and Saturdays), increasing to four from June through August (Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays). Flights are scheduled to arrive from Iceland at 6:30pm and depart from San Francisco at 11:30pm. Oct 1, 2004

JetBlue, the rapidly expanding JFK based newcomer has added to its award winning courtesy in-flight entertainment system. With the addition this month of Bravo, Comedy Central, Fox Movie Channel, Fox News Channel, FX, Hallmark Channel, MTV, National Geographic Channel, SciFi, and USA Network, JetBlue will now offer up to 36 channels of satellite television at every seat. JetBlue was the first airline to debut in-seat satellite television for its customers. Later this year, JetBlue will introduce Fox InFlight Premium entertainment, offering first-run movies for a nominal price on select flights. In 2005, JetBlue will also add XM Satellite Radio, free of charge to its lineup, with up to 100 channels of digital satellite radio. Last week the airline introduced services between New York's LaGuardia Airport and Fort Lauderdale, FL, and on 1 October between JFK and Phoenix, Arizona adding to the 27 destinations served from New York. http://www.jetblue.com Sep 27, 2004

Jetstar Asia is the name of a new low-cost airlines launched by Qantas in Singapore last week. The carrier is an international regional extension of Jetstar, the low-cost carrier launched by Qantas in the Australian domestic market in May and is a partnership between Qantas, Singaporean businessmen Tony Chew and FF Wong and Temasek Holdings. Officials say Jetstar Asia will start service to popular tourist and business destinations within five hours of Singapore by the end of the year. The fleet of brand new Airbus A320 aircraft, which seat 180, is scheduled to start arriving in Singapore from next month. The airline plans to have four A320s by January, building to more than 20 over the next three years. http://www.jetstarasia.com Oct 11, 2004

LTU International Airways, one of Germany's leading airlines, announced the addition of New York as a new route beginning May 2, 2005. LTU will operate daily, except Wednesdays, from John F. Kennedy International Airport's Terminal 4 with nonstop service to Dusseldorf, Germany, LTU's hub centrally located in the heart of North-Rhine Westphalia. LTU also offers convenient connections to Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart and Frankfurt in addition to other European destinations. LTU is celebrating its 50th year of operation in 2005 and is adding New York in an effort to expand its North American route structure. LTU currently services Ft. Myers, Orlando and Miami in Florida, Los Angeles, California and Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary in Canada. Oct 13, 2004

Northwest Airlines announced new nonstop jet service between its hub at Detroit and Wichita, Kan. Two daily flights will be offered beginning Jan. 12, 2005. With these new flights Wichita will now enjoy service to all three Northwest domestic hubs. The airline currently offers three existing daily flights to Minneapolis/St. Paul and three to Memphis, Tenn. The new service will be operated with Northwest Airlink partner Pinnacle Airlines Corp.'s Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ), which seats up to 50 passengers. Oct 11, 2004

Northwest Airlines has launched its first flight between San Francisco and its Tokyo hub using its new Airbus A330-200. The long-range 243- passenger aircraft are equipped with 32 of Northwest's new World Business Class lie-flat seats, 211 redesigned seats in coach class, and a new entertainment system in both cabins. The aircraft also features Airbus enhanced interior design and according to Airbus, the quietest long-haul cabin in the air. http://www.nwa.com Oct 11, 2004

Payless Car Rental System has opened a new car rental location servicing the Sacramento International Airport. Located at 350 Bercut Drive, the new location offers travelers easy access to and from the airport through a convenient shuttle service. The opening of a second Sacramento franchise brings the total of Payless Car Rental locations in California to nine serving Fresno, Los Angeles, Oakland, Orange County, San Francisco, San Jose and San Diego. Oct 11, 2004

Philippine Airlines and Air Macau have begun a thrice-weekly code-share service between Manila and Macau, with Air Macau as the operating carrier. PAL is now able to offer seats on Air Macau flights between the two cities, giving the Philippine flag carrier a commercial presence for the first time in the former Portuguese territory on China's southwestern coast. The service will enjoy dual designation, with both PAL and Air Macau codes appended to the flight numbers. All flights are by Air Macau Airbus A321 aircraft. http://www.philippineair.com and http://www.airmacau.com.mo/en Oct 11, 2004

Space as tourist destination was in the news after the historic sub orbital flights of SpaceShipOne on Oct. 4 2004. Some enthusiasts are said to have already sent in deposits toward the $150,000 or so it is going to cost to take a trip &endash; fledgling carrier Virgin Galactic having announced plans for sub orbital passenger flights by 2007. There is a fly in the ointment, however &endash; drafting the rules that will govern the industry in the US. Talks between regulators and rocket developers are still going on, and legislation is still before Congress. Officials say the pace of the talks and the final shape of the regulations could determine whether the current enthusiasm for space tourism remains at its current peak, especially among investors. Oct 11, 2004

Swiss International Air Lines will continue to serve 70 destinations worldwide under the new winter timetable, which takes effect on October 31 2004. Alicante was added to the route network in September, bringing to 43 the number of destinations Swiss International serves in Europe. On the intercontinental front Swiss International serves 27 destinations, with flights to Karachi being discontinued. Swiss International Air Lines is improving its product by offering more attractive departure times, optimized connections and more frequencies. In Europe, a total of 43 destinations in 22 countries are served, while intercontinental services comprise 27 cities in 19 countries. The total number of destinations in the route work remains unchanged from the summer timetable, with one more destination in Europe and one less on the intercontinental front. In addition, 13 more destinations are served with code share flights operated by Swiss International Air Lines partner airlines. These flights carrying an LX flight number. Oct 13, 2004

Travelocity has added car rental capability to its dynamic packaging program, TotalTrip. When users click on Flight + Hotel from the homepage or the vacations tab, they are then given the option to book a car by selecting a company. Anyone who books a car through Oct. 31 2004 as part of a TotalTrip package will be entered to win a seven-night Caribbean cruise for two on Royal Caribbean. The winner will be announced in November for a January or February cruise. Oct 13, 2004

United Airlines announced a plan to cut available seat miles for domestic trips by 12% while increasing capacity on international flights by 14%. United expects to need 68 fewer planes for the revised schedule, cutting its fleet to 455 aircraft. The strategy is designed to "follow the money," said John Tague, United's executive vice president of marketing, sales, and revenue, quoted in an interview with Reuters. How's that? Well, United books more high-margin revenue from international flights. That's because it's not uncommon for executives taking long-haul trips to, say, Asia to fly business class. A check at United's Web site this morning shows a business class ticket from Los Angeles to Tokyo leaving a week from today and returning the following week is priced at more than $6,000. Not only is the strategy good for margins but also it plays to United's strength. The carrier has arguably the best international route network of any domestic airline. Oct 8, 2004

United Airlines, increasingly squeezed by discount carriers in the U.S. market, is cutting back its domestic flight schedule and expanding its international presence in the push to become profitable again. The change in focus announced Wednesday means the world's second-largest carrier will be offering slightly fewer departures per market in the United States and flying more regional jets as it reduces its domestic capacity 12 percent by March 2005. International capacity will be boosted by 14 percent as United looks to its more lucrative overseas routes, particularly those to China, Japan and Vietnam, to help it return to profitability after four straight years of losses. Intent on slashing costs further to try to end its 22-month stay in bankruptcy, United said the moves will reduce overall capacity by 3 percent and shrink its fleet to 455 aircraft by next March, down from 523 in August and nearly 20 percent since 2002. Oct 6, 2004

United Vacations will be offering travelers nonstop daily service from Chicago-O'Hare to Aruba beginning Dec. 16, 2004. Sample vacations include roundtrip airfare on United Airlines, four-night hotel accommodations, roundtrip transportation between the airport and hotel and 24-hour traveler assistance. For example, a vacation with accommodations at the Wyndham Aruba Resort, Spa & Casino in a standard room begin at $1,259 from Chicago and $1,314 from Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Minneapolis. Vacations with accommodations at the all- inclusive Tamarijn Aruba in a superior oceanfront room begin at $1,379 from Chicago and $1,434 from Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Minneapolis. Prices are per person double and reflect Monday departures for travel Jan. 3 through March 28, 2005. Through United's extensive route structure, connecting flight options are available from departure cities nationwide. Visit www.vaxvacationaccess.com or call 800-328-6877. Oct 11, 2004