BRUSSELS, Belgium, Jan. 18, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- In 2004, Virgin Express (Euronext:VIRE) (OTCBB:VIRGY) customers bought far more seats via the internet than one year earlier. Compared to 2003 the number of sold seats via www.virgin-express.com jumped last year to 1,453,944 (+25%).
The e-commerce turnover in 2004 was more than E98 million. The Belgian low fare carrier remains one of the largest e-retailers in the Benelux.
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Internet
bookings 292 310 341 817 649.400 1.164.178 1.453.944
Internet
revenue
(EUR
millions) 17.8 20.1 42.9 77.7 98.4
% of bookings made
through
the internet 26.2% 24.6% 29.4% 46.9% 67.5%
In 2004, 67.7% of all Virgin Express bookings were done via its website. About 17% of the reservations came in via the call centre and 15% via the GDS-systems (Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan).
Number of Internet Bookings (1998-2004)
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Over a 5 year period of there has been a clear shift in the distribution channels used. A growing number of customers and travel agents now prefer to buy tickets via the internet.
The percentages of bookings made via the call centre and GDS are declining. Websales are far more cost-efficient. Since the distribution cost is reflected in the fare, tickets being bought via the internet are 3 to 5 euros per one way flight cheaper than those booked via GDS or the call centre.
Sold Seats per Distribution Channel (2004)
Attachments to the press release are available on http://www.companynewsgroup.com
Distribution Channels (2000-2004)
Attachements to the press release are available on http://www.companynewsgroup.com
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Call Centre Direct 33.1 22.7 18.2 12.7 7.0
Travel Agency Sales via Call Centre 46.0 31.1 28.4 17.4 10.4
GDS 0.1 20.8 23.0 21.7 15.2
Internet SkyAgent 1.3 5.6 14.1
Internet SkyLight 20.8 25.4 29.1 42.6 53.4