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To: fedhead who wrote (142206)	5/7/2002 2:49:55 PM
From: H James Morris	Respond to of 164684

The reason Web travel agencies make money is simple: Travel reservations are just data, which can be shipped easily over the Net. And the interactive nature of the medium lets customers do more research on vacation options online than they can do with brochures. Even the ever-slimming commissions agencies collect on airline tickets are tidily profitable once online agencies get big enough. And now they are. Leading agency Expedia Inc. (EXPE ) got $123 million in travel commissions last year, up 107%, but the cost of processing those reservations rose just 57%, to $53.4 million. What's more, smart online agencies have protected themselves against falling commissions by moving into the tour-packaging business.