Avis Budget Group and Southwest Airlines Sign New Multi-Year Partnership Marketing Agreement

Avis Budget Group, Inc.

today announced that it has entered into an expanded, new multi-year partnership marketing agreement with Southwest Airlines

which will enable the Company to promote Avis Car Rental, Budget Car Rental and Payless Car Rental offers, products and services to Southwest customers. Southwest Airlines flies more than 100 million passengers per year, and Avis Budget Group provides travelers with more than 100 million vehicle rental days per year. As part of the new agreement, Avis, Budget and Payless will have advertising placement on the Southwest Airlines website as well as merchandising placement throughout the airline reservation process. The car rental brands will also be featured on airline confirmation pages and pre-trip emails to customers. Special car rental discount offers, such as bonus Rapid Rewards® credits for completed rentals will also be presented on southwest.com. "Southwest.com is the only avenue for Southwest customers to purchase and manage their air travel online," said Stephen Wright, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Latin America/Asia-Pacific, Avis Budget Group. "Having Avis, Budget and Payless offers prominently placed on southwest.com will be an important source of incremental reservations for us." "This partnership is another example of Southwest Airlines' efforts to bring increased value and benefits to our customers," said Jonathan Clarkson, director, Rapid Rewards program and partnerships for Southwest. "We enjoy working with partners such as Avis Budget Group because they help reinforce the benefits that enhance our Rapid Rewards customer's experience." The expanded alliance between Avis Budget Group and Southwest Airlines builds upon a relationship that dates back to 1995.