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JUPITER RESEARCH FORECASTS ONLINE AIR TICKET SALES TO GROW 14% DESPITE WAR AND THREAT OF SARS
(New York, NY - May 19, 2003) - Jupiter Research, a division of Jupitermedia Corporation (Nasdaq: JUPM), today announced that online airline ticket sales in 2003 will grow to $19 billion, a 14% increase over the $16.8 billion in sales in 2002. This online growth is a marked contrast to the 5% decline in airline passengers that Jupiter Research expects this year. "Despite the turmoil in the airline industry, online airline ticket sales will continue their strong growth in 2003," said Jared Blank, senior analyst with Jupiter Research. "Although fewer people are flying than in past years, today's travelers are taking advantage of the lower fares and customer service features only found online."Based on an April 2003 forecast by Jupiter Research, Jupiter Research's new report "2003 Online Airline Ticket Sales: Measuring the Impact of War and SARS" found that 34% of airline ticket sales to leisure and unmanaged business travelers will take place online this year, compared to the 28% of tickets that were sold online in 2002. "The efforts made by airlines to push travelers to their Web sites are definitely paying off this year, especially for low cost carriers," Blank adds. "Airlines will also benefit from the growth of the online population, as 2.5 million more people will purchase airline tickets online in 2003 than in 2002." The report also notes that because 90% of online airline ticket sales are for domestic flights, SARS has not had as great an impact on online sales as it has on the industry as a whole.
The report also finds that, unfortunately for airlines, the growth of the online channel will not signal a financial turnaround for most carriers. The slow economy, drop in business travelers, depressed fares and intense competition from low cost carriers will make 2003 another difficult year for the airline industry. "The Web is a bright spot for airlines, but it will not be bright enough to improve their shaky financial situations," Blank said.
The complete findings of this report are immediately available to Jupiter Research clients online. For more information please contact Kieran Kelly at [email protected] or call 1-800-481-1212.
About Jupitermedia Corporation
Jupitermedia Corporation (Nasdaq: JUPM),
(http://www.jupitermedia.com) headquartered in Darien, CT,
is a leading provider of global real-time news, information,
research and media resources for information technology and
Internet industry professionals. Jupitermedia includes the
internet.com and EarthWeb.com Network of over 150 Web sites
and 175 e-mail newsletters that generate over 200 million
page views monthly. Jupitermedia also includes Jupiter
Research, a leading international research advisory
organization specializing in business and technology market
research in 18 business areas and 11 vertical markets. In
addition, Jupiter Events include nearly 40 offline
conferences and trade shows focused on IT and business-
specific topics, including Computer Digital Expo, America's
21st Century Enterprise IT Conference & Expo
(http://www.cdxpo.com).
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties address a variety of subjects including, for example, the competitive environment in which Jupitermedia Corporation competes; the unpredictability of Jupitermedia Corporation's future revenues, expenses, cash flows and stock price; Jupitermedia Corporation's ability to integrate acquired businesses, products and personnel into its existing businesses; Jupitermedia Corporation's international and venture fund investments; any material change in Jupitermedia Corporation's intellectual property rights and continued growth and acceptance of information technology and the Internet. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and uncertainties, refer to Jupitermedia Corporation's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements included herein are made as of the date of this press release, and Jupitermedia Corporation assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements after the date hereof.
CONTACT:
Michelle Quinell/Ben Billingsley
Trylon Communications
212-725-2295
[email protected]
[email protected]
All current Jupiter Research press releases can be found online at www.internet.com/corporate/press.html.
All current Jupitermedia Corporation press releases can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.internet.com/corporate/press.html.
