The article below from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight ------------\ THE CLEARING - IN THEATERS JULY 2 - WATCH THE TRAILER NOW An official selection of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, THE CLEARING stars ROBERT REDFORD and HELEN MIRREN as Wayne and Eileen Hayes - a husband and wife living the American Dream. Together they've raised two children and struggled to build a successful business from the ground up. But there have been sacrifices along the way. When Wayne is kidnapped by an ordinary man, Arnold Mack (WILLEM DAFOE), and held for ransom in a remote forest, the couple's world is turned inside out. Watch the trailer at: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/theclearing/index_nyt.html \----------------------------------------------------------/ Memo Pad: Business Fares at Low April 6, 2004 By JOE SHARKEY BUSINESS FARES AT SIX-YEAR LOW The general collapse of high business-fare structures and advance-purchase restrictions was clearly noted on corporate travel departments' bottom lines in 2003, as average business air fares paid fell to a level not seen in six years, American Express says. Competitive pricing responses by major carriers to incursions by low-fare carriers are a prime reason for the drop to a $276 average fare paid last year, the lowest since $256 in 1996, according to American Express. Average fares are calculated from a variety of fare types booked by business travelers, including full walkup fares, nonrefundable advance-purchase tickets and negotiated corporate discounts. NEWS MEDIA NOT ENTRANCED Virgin Atlantic Airways, which already offers professional massages in its Upper Class cabins, received a lot of phone calls from the news media last week after it sent out a press release, dated March 31, announcing that it was planning to offer hypnotherapy to passengers. Virgin even quoted its chairman, Sir Richard Branson, as saying that hypnotists would be available to offer therapies for making passengers "believe they have been upgraded," among other things. Only a few news outlets around the world evidently fell for the April Fool's joke, but a lot checked it out with Virgin's press office. Only "a few seemed perturbed" at the prank, part of an April Fool's tradition at fun-loving Virgin, a unit of the Virgin Group, said Elizabeth Ciresi, a spokeswoman. FOREIGN TRAVEL UP There is more evidence of the resurgence in international travel from domestic airlines' data on March traffic, compared with March 2003. The five major airlines that had released March numbers as of yesterday reported they had sharp increases in overseas traffic as measured in revenue passenger miles. At AMR's American Airlines, international travel was up 20.9 percent (compared with a 7 percent rise domestically). Delta Air Lines' international traffic rose 16 percent (7.9 percent domestically). At Continental Airlines, international travel was up 17.7 percent (6.3 percent). US Airways' overseas traffic rose 24.2 percent (4.5 percent), and Northwest Airlines reported an increase of 9.4 percent (2.8 percent). CHALLENGE TO WATCH LIST The American Civil Liberties Union says it will file a lawsuit to challenge the so-called no-fly list, a consolidated watch list containing the names of thousands of people with suspected terrorist or other threatening connections. The list is being phased in at airports by the Transportation Security Administration. People whose names match one on the list, which has been consolidated from various watch lists maintained by government agencies, will be subject to extra security or prohibited from flying altogether. Numerous travelers have complained about being harassed at airports because they share a name with someone on the lists. The A.C.L.U. plans news conferences in three cities today to release details of its suit, whose plaintiffs include a retired Presbyterian minister, a member of the military and a college student. BUSINESS JETS AND EUROPE Business aviation has traditionally faced both cultural and geographical hurdles in Europe, where public attitudes toward corporate highfliers are more negative than in the United States and extensive high-speed train networks with luxury services adequately serve most medium-range distances typically flown by the company plane. That may be changing, especially as security measures cause new delays at European airports. NetJets, the leading United States provider of corporate fractional-jet services, says it is investing $312 million in the European private jet market this year and buying 21 new planes, including two Gulfstream IV-SP jets capable of making trans-Atlantic trips. NetJets is owned by Berkshire Hathaway JOE SHARKEY http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/06/business/06memo.html?ex=1082259908&ei=1&en=23076d332ca38c54 --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here: http://homedelivery.nytimes.com/HDS/SubscriptionT1.do?mode=SubscriptionT1&ExternalMediaCode=W24AF 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 2004 The New York Times Company