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RNS Number:2559I
World Travel Holdings PLC
9 August 2001


                            For Immediate Release

                          World Travel Holdings plc

  Acquisition of online travel pioneer TISS and leading website, flights.com


London, 9 August 2001 - World Travel Holdings plc ("WTH") announces that it
has today acquired the travel business of TISS, the longest established online
consumer travel business in the world, together with its 75 per cent. interest
in its US fulfilment subsidiary, TISS, Inc.

TISS operates two principal sales websites Flights.com and TISS.com, and sells
direct to the consumer net priced discounted air fares from over 34 different
countries in five languages.  The main markets for TISS are the United States
and Germany but there are also significant sales in the rest of the world.
World Travel Holdings announced earlier this year that it acquired Sir Bob
Geldof's Deckchair online travel business, which is now operating on the
Group's technology.  With this brand in the UK market and Flights.com in the
US and Continental Europe, World Travel Holdings now has a strong consumer
offering in three key global economies.

TISS is currently selling at the rate of over 25,000 net priced tickets every
year in the United States alone. It also sells a similar number in Germany and
the rest of the world.  At current volumes this roughly trebles the Group's
current on-line consumer ticket sales of approximately 24,000 per annum
without a corresponding increase in overhead.

Currently TISS sources its fares from, and its fares are fulfilled by third
party consolidators. WTH intends to add its own net priced fares (sourced from
Travac its US based consolidator and ITAL its UK consolidator) in addition to
the partners currently supplying fares to TISS.  Selling product from WTH's
own consolidator, Travac through the TISS system would result in a 25 per
cent. increase in margins over TISS's traditional third party fulfilment
model.  World Travel also intends to expand the business into Canada, where it
is already the dominant on-line supplier of net fares to the travel trade, and
also to provide access to published fares.

As a result of the significant operating synergies achievable, the Company
repeats its confidence in achieving its previously stated goal of annual
profitability before amortisation of goodwill from the second quarter of 2002.
  The full integration of the Deckchair acquisition has been completed later
than anticipated at the time of its announcement but has now been completed.
This together with the additional effort expended in respect of this
acquisition mean that the profitability anticipated in the third quarter of
the current year is unlikely to be achieved.

TISS Inc. currently provides TISS with net fares distribution and fulfilment
services in the United States and at 30 June 2001 had unaudited net assets of
$185,000.

The acquisition of TISS is to be funded by cash payments solely related to the
value of future sales from the TISS business over twenty-four months subject
to a maximum of #625,000.

Jonathan Biles, Chief Executive of World Travel Holdings plc, said "This deal
fulfils every criteria - not only does it significantly increase our volume on
day one, it also gives a significant opportunity for us to substantially
increase both our volumes and margins over coming months.  It also provides us
with access to some very useful additional technology that we would otherwise
have had to develop ourselves.  I am delighted that we have been able to
secure our position as the global leader in the market for online discounted
fares distribution - a key counter cyclical market in a more cost conscious
economy."


Contacts:


Jonathan Biles, Chief Executive  World Travel Holdings plc     020 7456 1352
Nick Miles                       Financial Dynamics            020 7831 3113

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