STAMFORD, Conn., April 6, 1998--In 1997, the most profitable in industry history, airlines flew more than 205 million empty seats (U.S. DOT data). Yet millions of consumers often don't buy tickets because they're unable to find a fare that meets their budget. All that is about to change. Priceline.com (www.priceline.com or 1-800-PRICELINETM), an entirely new kind of consumer buying service launching today, enables leisure airline travelers to name their own price for airline tickets. Consumers can name any price they're ready to pay for one or more seats on a major full-service U.S. or International airline to any destination worldwide.

Not a standby system, priceline.com enables users to purchase fully confirmed tickets from two days to six months in advance of departure. Airlines have agreed to allow consumers to go to priceline.com to name their own price for unsold seats. Each request takes just five minutes or less to complete and can be submitted free of charge on the Internet directly by consumers, their friends, family members, or their travel agents. Consumers without Internet access can make an offer through the priceline.comSM Concierge Service for a nominal charge.

To use priceline.com, consumers simply go to the Web site and tell priceline.com four things: the city they're going to, the dates they want to travel, the price they're ready to pay, and the major credit card they guarantee to use. In just one hour for domestic travel (24 hours for international), priceline.com finds out if any of the major airlines are willing to release seats. Airlines can select any flights departing between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., and may require up to one connection. If seats are released, confirmed tickets are immediately issued by priceline.com via electronic ticketing or sent via Federal Express or USPS Express.

With priceline.com, consumers are assured of flying on one of the world's leading airlines if they are issued a ticket. For domestic travel, tickets will be issued on one of the major full-service U.S. carriers and their regional affiliates. For International travel, tickets will be issued on a major full-service U.S. or International airline which serves the particular country. Airlines may choose to use priceline.com at any given time based on their respective market conditions.

Ideal for Leisure Travel
According to Arthur Frommer, a leading travel authority and editor-in-chief of Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel Magazine, "Priceline is ideal for leisure travelers who want the quality of a major carrier and are willing to request a reasonable price for a ticket. It is especially useful for millions of consumers who try to book their trip close to departure, when low-price fares are often unavailable."

Consumers can submit one free priceline.com request for each trip they plan to take (a service charge is applied for subsequent requests for the same itinerary). Priceline.com is most likely to issue tickets for consumers who request reasonable prices. And, since the airlines pick the flights where they've got extra space, there are no blackout dates, no Saturday night stay and no advance purchase requirements. All tickets are non-refundable, non-changeable and do not earn frequent flyer miles (issuing airlines may make exceptions as it deems appropriate).

Priceline.com can be used by all leisure travelers, not just those on the Internet. According to Jay Walker, chairman of priceline.com, "Today, almost everyone can get to a Web site, either by themselves or through a friend or family member." Priceline.com also offers a Concierge Service, available by calling 1-800-PRICELINETM, which enables buyers without direct Internet access to reach a priceline.com representative who will enter their request on the Web site for a small fee.

About Priceline.com
Based in Stamford, Conn., priceline.com LLC is a privately held company that has created a consumer buying service using the world's first buyer-driven commerce system. With priceline.com, buyers name the price they're ready to pay and sellers decide whether or not to fill the buyers' requests. The first application of this buyer-driven commerce system is leisure airline tickets; future buying services include new cars (summer 1998) and home mortgages (fall 1998). Buyer-driven commerce was invented by Walker Digital, a high tech marketing laboratory where Jay Walker, chairman of priceline.com, also serves as chairman. Priceline.com was founded in March 1996 and employs a staff of 70 professionals.