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 \----------------------------------------------------------/ Air Fares Slip June 22, 2004 JOE SHARKEY AIR FARES DOWN After climbing slightly but steadily all year, average domestic fares at eight major United States airlines dropped 1.8 percent in May, according to the Air Transport Association. With overall domestic capacity expected to be up more than 10 percent this summer over last summer and low-cost carriers continuing to challenge bigger rivals for market share on competing routes, the sagging fares in May suggest that downward pressure could continue on summer domestic fares, industry analysts said. International fares, where there is no competition from low-cost carriers, have risen steadily all year, the trade group said. FUEL PUMP BLUES Some airlines have been wailing that the surging cost of fuel has thwarted a return to profitability. But a new Unisys R2A Scorecard report questions their reasoning. "Current fuel prices, in nominal dollars, are near but still below their all-time high" just before the first Persian Gulf war in 1990, the report stated. When adjusted for inflation, current fuel prices are about half of what they were in 1981. "For all carriers, because of their increasing fuel efficiency, fuel prices are steadily declining in relative importance" compared with other operating costs, according to the report, which adds: "Fuel price levels are not the cause of the current disastrous financial results posted by the large carriers. It follows, then, that lower fuel prices would not save the carriers." HIGHER HOTEL TABS Average room rates in domestic hotels will rise by 3 percent this year, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. A big reason, it said, is a higher-than-anticipated proportion of business travelers to leisure travelers, who are more likely to be bargain hunters. WORLD'S LONGEST FLIGHT Singapore Airlines will break its own record for the world's longest nonstop commercial flight when it begins service between Singapore and Newark next Monday. The 18-hour flight, which crosses the North Pole, will cover 10,357 miles. That is nearly 1,200 miles more than the existing record, the nonstop route between Singapore and Los Angeles that the airline began flying in February. To entice business travelers on those routes, Singapore configured new, ultra-long-range Airbus A340-500 aircraft with two cabin classes: executive economy, which has 117 seats with 37 inches of legroom, and its Raffles business class, with 64 seats that can fold down flat for conversion into 78-inch-long beds. MORE AIRPORT ADS? Airport advertising, which includes everything from signs and billboards to corporate messages woven into departure lounge rugs, is a "highly effective medium for reaching upscale Americans," according to a survey released yesterday by Arbitron Inc. Of the 92 million Americans who boarded airplanes in the last 12 months, 17 million are considered frequent fliers who tend to be "affluent, well-educated and sophisticated consumers," Arbitron said. Diane Williams, an Arbitron research analyst, said that airport advertising provided an especially good opportunity for selling luxury goods and entertainment because it reaches "upscale targets in a captive environment." FOREIGN VISITORS SURGE About 3.4 million foreign visitors traveled to the United States in April, representing a 28 percent increase over April 2003, the Commerce Department said yesterday. During the first four months of this year, 11.4 million foreign visitors arrived, an increase of 16 percent from the same period last year. JOE SHARKEY http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/22/business/22memo.html?ex=1088914243&ei=1&en=4508d8729e87fbd6 --------------------------------- 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