BRUSSELS, Belgium, Aug. 16, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Virgin Express (Euronext:VIRE) (OTCBB:VIRGY) announces that it offers its customers and travel agents a newly developed fully integrated online booking feature to reserve aisle or window seats with additional legroom on Virgin Express flights via www.virgin-express.com. Passengers wishing to have more space can book guaranteed extra legroom seats for only E10 per one-way flight. Virgin Express is also able to offer the pre-seat facility on standard seats for only E2.50 per seat, which is great news for families and friends travelling together.
The booking system has now been upgraded to a fully automated, user-friendly system that enables the customer or travel agent to see on a seat plan image which extra legroom seats are already booked and which are still available for sale. The customer gets a confirmation of the transaction within seconds. The pre-seating fee is integrated in the total price to be paid.
The standard seat pitch on board the airline's Boeing 737s is the same as with most airlines on European routes. Last year Virgin Express increased the seat pitch from row 2 till 7 by 3 inches (app. 7.5 cm), comparable to the business class pitch on many traditional airlines.
Paul Sies, Commercial Director of Virgin Express, commented: "This extra feature is a unique development that we are very proud of and which is entirely in line with our overall e-commerce strategy. This cost reducing feature has been thoroughly been tested and works flawlessly now. The 100% automated legroom booking tool also distinguishes Virgin Express clearly from these low cost airlines with little regard for customer service and legroom comfort and from full-service carriers hiding their service charges in their high fares. When choosing Virgin Express, customers can self-tailor the service they want at a low, clearly identified price. Furthermore, in the coming months we will be making other important steps to introduce so called 'dynamic packaging' for business and leisure purposes by introducing fully integrated means of booking rental cars and hotels."
Virgin Express is the most important Internet retailer in the Benelux. In 2003, 47% of all bookings were made through the net. In the first half of 2004, the e-commerce percentage jumped to 64% of all bookings made, showing that the Internet has become the most improtant distribution channel for the Belgian low fare airline.