SOUTHLAKE, Texas and LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct. 11, 2004–Travelocity(R), a Sabre Holdings company (NYSE:TSG), announced today that Damon Tassone has been named president of its Travelocity Europe operation, replacing Dirk Hauke, who has accepted a non-related-travel position with the Otto Group, Travelocity’s joint venture partner in Germany. Tassone most recently served as senior vice president of distribution at Travelocity, where he was responsible for subsidiaries Site59.com and World Choice Travel, as well as the company’s relationships with distribution partners America Online, Yahoo! and other leading travel suppliers.
“I am very pleased that Damon will lead Travelocity Europe going forward as we renew our focus and expand our presence there. I have enormous faith in his talent and management style,” said Michelle Peluso, Travelocity CEO. “We have a strong and capable European team thanks largely to Dirk, who did a terrific job starting up and running Travelocity Europe and steering us through the recent acquisition process.”
Travelocity completed the acquisition of the remaining 50 percent of the Travelocity Europe joint venture it did not already own, excluding the operations in Germany on October 4, 2004. In Germany, the company continues its joint venture with the Otto Group business Otto Freizeit und Touristik GmbH (OFT).
Tassone will be based in London and will report directly to Peluso. He will assume responsibility for all Travelocity’s European businesses outside Germany, and for Travelocity’s 50 percent shareholding in the German operations.
Before assuming his most recent role at Travelocity, Tassone held key positions at Site59, which innovated the last minute space in online travel, eventually serving as its general manager. Prior to that, he worked for beer and spirits giant Guinness and was a consumer products and retail advisor at Boston Consulting Group. Tassone is an alumnus of Dartmouth College where he earned a degree in English.
About Travelocity
Travelocity’s industry-leading technology and straight-talking, honest information help travelers take more rewarding and affordable trips. With 44 million registered users and booking $4 billion of travel in 2003, Travelocity negotiates thousands of low-priced deals with the world’s most reputable travel providers – top airlines, hotels, car rental companies, cruise lines, and other destination attractions and services. Additionally, Travelocity offers deeply-discounted rates for weekend getaways and dynamic packages through its Last Minute Deals and TotalTrip(SM) shopping engines, and provides customer service support over the phone 24 hours a day. Based in Southlake, Texas, Travelocity also operates Travelocity Business for corporate customers, powers international travel Web sites in eight languages, and has been recognized for its consumer advocacy and global leadership in online travel. More information about Travelocity is available at www.travelocity.com. Travelocity is owned by Sabre Holdings Corporation (NYSE: TSG), a world leader in travel commerce. More information about Sabre Holdings is available at www.sabre-holdings.com.
CONTACT: VOLLMER PR for Travelocity
Mary Kate Smither, 972-488-4790 (USA)
marykate@vollmerpr.com
or
Peter Heath, 44 (0) 1844-350-099 (EUROPE)
peter@textwrite.org
SOURCE: Travelocity
