DFW Airport On-Line Auction Nets Record $322,036

DFW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Texas (April 22, 2004) – Racking up more than $125,000 in the final, furious hours of online bidding, DFW Airport concluded its largest online auction with preliminary net proceeds of $322,036, beating the previous 'live auction' record of $236,000 by 27 percent. The auction, which began on March 15, generated more than 3.4M web hits to www.dfwairport.com and www.renebates.com. More than 4,799 bids were placed for 207 lots of goods from the Airport's surplus property. The high bid was $13,850 for a 1991 Ford Tractor.

"The excitement and enthusiasm we saw among the bidders was incredible," says John Wesley White, vice president of procurement for DFW. "We've exceeded our goal and proven that on-line is the way to go when it comes to bidder access, revenue generation and bottom line good business sense for DFW."

The Airport's web site, which DFW makes a business priority for informing and reaching guests, also registered record-breaking numbers. During the auction period, total hits to www.dfwairport.com were up 35 percent over the previous year. During the auction's first week, it beat out "Flight Information" as the most popular feature on the site. The Airport also contracted with Rene Bates Auctioneers and utilized www.renebates.com as the primary online auction site.

Both DFW Airport and Rene Bates were Top 20 web search subjects for the entire Internet during this month. Bids were placed from more than 30 international locations, including Mexico, Canada, Cocos Islands, Greece, Guatemala, Japan, Sweden, United Kingdom, Turkey, Guyana, Australia, Brazil, Netherlands, Ireland, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Israel, Seychelles, Czech Republic, Taiwan, and Argentina.

A couple of smaller "lost and found" lots that received curious interest netted the Airport a few extra dollars as well. Lot 275, affectionately known as the "Britney package" featured miscellaneous books, toys and a framed Britney Spears poster and sold for $95.25. Lot 274 that featured a left-behind snowboard as well as car seats and stroller brought $82.00.

"We're now following up with the winning bidders to arrange for pick up," says White. "Bidders have five days to settle their accounts. Then we'll start assembling items for the next sale."

Located halfway between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, DFW International Airport is the world’s third busiest, serving 54 million passengers a year. Offering nearly 2,000 flights daily, DFW Airport provides nonstop service to 136 domestic and 31 international destinations worldwide. For the latest news, real-time flight information, parking availability or further details regarding the many services provided at DFW International Airport, log on to www.dfwairport.com.

To arrange interviews contact DFW Public Affairs at 972 574 NEWS (6397) or Ken Capps, Vice President Public Affairs, kcapps@dfwairport.com.