Airport News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 26, 2003

AKRON-CANTON AIRPORT RESPONDS TO BETHUNE.S REMARKS AT THE

GREATER CLEVELAND GROWTH ASSOCIATION.S ANNUAL MEETING

Green, OH: At the Annual Meeting of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association at the

Renaissance Hotel yesterday, Continental Airlines Chairman and CEO Gordon Bethune, suggested that flights from Akron-Canton Airport have had a significant impact on their boardings and potentially their hub status. at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

.It is our firm belief that flights from Akron-Canton Airport compliment those offered by Continental Airlines from Cleveland,. said airport director Fred Krum. .Mr. Bethune, who we have great admiration and respect for, has overemphasized our impact on their boardings..

Of the approximately 5.5 million trips originating in Northeast Ohio in 2002, 50 percent are aboard Continental Airline flights, 40 percent are on flights offered by other carriers from Cleveland (including Southwest Airlines, the world.s largest affordable fare carrier), and 10 percent are flying any of five carriers serving Akron-Canton Airport.

Additionally, this is a time of exceptional strain on all facets of the airline/ aviation industry. Soft

bookings and increased security fees since the terrorist attacks, the economic recession depressing business travel and the war in Iraq have created a crisis never seen before. .Although we are growing, this combination of factors, most likely, is having a greater impact on their boardings than any competition we could muster from CAK,. added Krum. .The Continental Airlines hub in Cleveland is important to the region. We.ve supported their growth to international destinations in the past and hope they will continue to grow in Northeast Ohio in the future. We too will continue to grow, filling a strategic need for air service that compliments their service offerings..

AirTran Airways, Delta Connection carriers, Northwest Airlink, United Express, and US Airways

Express serve the growing Akron-Canton market. The airport is currently in the midst of a $50 million, five-year expansion program including longer runways, an expanded terminal (including a new secondlevel loading concourse and a food court with national brands) and a new interchange south of the airport at Shuffel Road. Additional airport information is available at www.akroncantonairport.com.