LA JOLLA, Calif. - April 21, 2003 - Whether it's shipping bikes, scuba gear or hockey sticks, taking sports equipment to travel destinations just got easier and less expensive for millions of active Americans. Through ActiveAdvantage (www.active.com/activeadvantage), the customized membership benefits service from The Active Network, athletes can now ship sports equipment free-of-charge on America West flights.
Typical airline fees for extra luggage or items such as bikes and other equipment range from $50 - $100 one-way, depending on either size or weight. In some cases, bikes cost as much as $200 round trip. Stephen Robinson, a triathlete from Stamford, Conn., recently used the sports equipment pass to fly from New York to Solvang, Calif. for the Solvang Century Ride, a 100-mile ride through California's Central Coast. "Using the pass was fast and easy without hassles. I arrived late at the airport so the pass helped me make my flight by avoiding wasted time with calculating oversize baggage charges. It worked well for me," said Robinson.
Mike Kirkpatrick, manager for the KC Wingnuts, a Kansas City men's slowpitch softball team, is looking forward to using the equipment pass for team travel. "Our team travels frequently during the season, taking at least two major trips a year, so I'm pretty excited about the new pass. If we can save time and money getting our bats, balls, gloves and playing equipment to the next game, we'll be happy."
The sports equipment pass is one of several ActiveAdvantage benefits. By tapping into the buying power of millions of participant athletes, ActiveAdvantage has leveraged competitive deals with leading airline, hotel and car rental companies to deliver customized benefits for active lifestyles. Pricing is often below travel agency offerings.
"We're making it more convenient and less expensive for athletes to participate and compete in the sports they love," said Bill Rennie, director, premium services, The Active Network. "Shipping bikes and gear is a travel headache and now we can offer some relief. Through ActiveAdvantage, athletes get immediate savings and spend less time planning their travel and more time playing and training."
ActiveAdvantage offers athletes daily discounts ranging from 10% to 50% on airfare, rental cars, lodging, sporting goods and apparel, communications and technology, and entertainment and restaurants. For athletes registering online for events and activities at www.active.com, the service also offers additional discounts on registration fees.
ActiveAdvantage has the support of industry-leading companies that have made commitments to the special needs of participatory athletes. Premium partners include Worldspan - a market leader in e-commerce for the travel industry and technology backbone provider for ActiveAdvantage - and companies such as American Airlines, America West, Avis Corporation, Budget Rent a Car Corporation, Cendant (AmeriHost, Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Knights Inn, Ramada, Travelodge, Villager and Wingate Inn), Choice Hotels International (Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, MainStay Suites, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn), Homestead Studio Suites Hotel, Capsule Communications, MBNA and iDine. The service continues to add new partners and offerings.
Athletes can sign up for the service at www.active.com/activeadvantage . Annual membership is $49.95 (subject to any current promotions).
About The Active Network
The Active Network, Inc. specializes in participatory sports and recreation by providing data, transaction processing and marketing services to organizers and their participants. Through a network of online and offline properties including Active.com (www.active.com), eteamz.com (www.eteamz.com), RecWare (www.recware.com) and The Active Sports Marketing Group (www.theasmg.com), the La Jolla, Calif.-based company boasts the nation's most popular resource for active lifestyle consumers, while streamlining administration and Internet transactions for thousands of sports organizers. The Active Network's reach extends to millions of sports and fitness enthusiasts across endurance sports, team sports and park and recreation activities. The company's data management systems and services, as well as marketing services and sports marketing access, are becoming an industry standard. For more information, visit www.theactivenetwork.com or call (888) 543-7223.