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Australian travellers can look forward to permanently lower air fares as a result of a radical new internet marketing program being introduced today.

Internet travel company Webjet Ltd says new automated booking technology will allow fares to be substantially reduced with savings of up to hundreds of dollars (example attached) for internet customers prepared to make their own bookings.

'We are now offering consumers fares at prices formerly available only to bulk-buyers,' says Webjet's Managing Director, David Clarke.

Even customers who still want personalised service from an experienced travel manager will still make savings.

Webjet will also make travel costs fully transparent for the first time in Australia. It will reveal to customers the real net cost of the fare and the surcharge for each level of service they choose.

'Customers who want to do all the work themselves, selecting a flight from the airline schedules and booking it via the internet, will make big savings,' says Mr Clarke. 'Those who want more service will know exactly how much extra they are paying for it,' he says.

'There are no longer any hidden commissions. This is the first time Australian travellers have been given this transparency and this choice.'

Webjet says it is the only company in Australia currently offering this new approach. Nonetheless, it expects the introduction to trigger widespread changes in Australia's travel industry as mainstream bricks-and-mortar agents seek ways to counter these permanently cheaper fares.

Mr Clarke said travel was the fastest growing area of internet business in the US - the one sector that was not trashed in the dot.com shakeout - because it is a perfect product for e-commerce.

'You do not need expensive warehousing, packing and mailing operations to deliver the product, as you do with books or records. Nor do you need to touch and see the product before you buy as you do with fashion or household items.

'Airlines have been offering electronic ticketing for years; it is now available directly to the consumer via the net.

'You can choose flight times and destinations from home as easily, even more easily, than you can in a travel agent's office and you can now compare the full range of prices from all airlines and book at what are effectively wholesale rates.'

Mr Clarke said Webjet had already been experiencing rapid booking growth because of these advantages. 'With the new cost and service options we expect booking levels to increase even more rapidly,' he said. WEBJET's