This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx Low-Fare Flights Are Gaining March 25, 2003 By JOE SHARKEY How big a slice of the pie are low-fare airlines actually taking? Pretty big, says OAG, publisher of Official Airline Guides, a worldwide source of flight-schedule information. Comparing worldwide flight-schedule frequency in corresponding weeks this month against the period in 2002, OAG found that low-fare carriers' flights increased 63 percent in Europe, 5 percent in the United States and 69 percent in Canada. The growth came against a slight 1 percent worldwide increase in all scheduled flights. Cathay Pacific Is Skytrax's Best Cathay Pacific Airways came in first in the 2003 Airline of the Year survey by Skytrax, the British research company. The rest of the top 10: Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas Airways, British Airways, Swiss, Thai Airways, Air New Zealand and Austrian Airlines. The annual survey received 4.4 million responses through online polls, as well as focus groups and worldwide interviews with travel managers and passengers. Waiving the Penalty for One-Way Rentals Car rental companies say they will not impose penalty fees for one-way drop-offs if the war in Iraq causes the government to raise the national security level to a red alert, and air travel is consequently suspended. Hertz, Avis, Budget, Dollar and Enterprise all plan to waive the penalties for dropping off a car in a city other than the one where it was rented. The move is intended to assure potential customers that they can book a car with the assurance that they can drive home if stranded. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/25/business/25MEMO.html?ex=1049602673&ei=1&en=5689ea48d3676fa2 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@xxxxxxxxxxx or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@xxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company