NWAC Northwest Airlines (MM)

Coast Air Addresses Corporate Traveler Needs; Becomes UATP Merchant WASHINGTON, May 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Coast Air picks UATP, the global corporate travel payment network to meet the needs of its corporate travelers. Coast Air's UATP Merchant status became effective 2 April 2005. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040318/UATPLOGO ) "Joining UATP is a natural step in our efforts to better accommodate the business traveler," says CFO, Andre Kidess. "We launched a turn-around project in 2004, including a new corporate profile as well as new ticket concepts to match different needs. We are currently looking into ticketless systems and being a UATP merchant fits very well into the strategy of being an operator that competes with the major airlines on niche routes." Coast Air will also utilize UATP Settlement Services (USS), a low-cost, weekly settlement system that matches fees and air tickets electronically, allowing for easy reconciliation of accounts for non-clearing house transactions. While all UATP accounts will be accepted, Scandinavian Airlines System and AirPlus, which operates British Airways and Lufthansa's UATP programs, are popular in this market. "Customer demand continues to be a leading factor in UATP growth," said president and CEO, Ralph Kaiser. "Corporate travelers are seeing the benefits of paying lower credit card costs and not paying foreign exchange fees. Smart airlines like Coast Air are listening to their customers and building UATP into a successful corporate business travel strategy." Coast Air's turn-around project, begun in 2004, also included new aircraft, to a total fleet of seven aircraft and opened new domestic routes, to a total of nine scenic destinations in Norway: Haugesund, Oslo, Trondheim, Fagernes, Bergen, Kristiansund, Sandefjord, Stord and Skien. Visit uatp.com or http://www.coastair.no/ for more information. About UATP UATP accounts are accepted as a form of payment for corporate business travel by more than 200 airlines worldwide. UATP accounts are issued by these airlines: Aer Lingus, Air New Zealand, Alitalia, American Airlines (NYSE:AMR), Austrian Airlines, Continental Airlines (NYSE:CAL), Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), Japan Airlines (NasdaqOTC: JALSY), Qantas Airways, Ltd., Scandinavian Airlines System, United Airlines (OTC:UALAQ) (BULLETIN BOARD: UALAQ) , US Airways (OTC:UAIRQ.OB) (BULLETIN BOARD: UAIRQ.OB) , and VARIG Brazilian Airlines. AirPlus International issues the UATP-based Company Account for: British Airways (NYSE:BAB), Lufthansa German Airlines, Northwest Airlines (NASDAQ:NWAC), Continental Airlines (NYSE:CAL). CONTACT: Wendy L. Ward of UATP, +1-202-626-4077, . http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040318/UATPLOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: UATP CONTACT: Wendy L. Ward of UATP, +1-202-626-4077, Web site: http://www.uatp.com/ http://www.coastair.no/

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