wRatings RanksMost Competitive Travel & Transport Companies in 2009

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20090910005109/en

HERNDON, Va.--(Business Wire)--
The wRatings Corporation, creators of the only standard customer rating system
that measures stock performance, announced today the results of its annual
rankings for the Most Competitive Travel & Transport companies. The study was
written in collaboration with Capgemini, a leader in consulting, technology and
outsourcing services.

This year's Top 20 welcomes eight newcomers, representing a 40% turnover from
2008. Transport firms dominate the rankings with 14 of the 20 spots. The biggest
mover is Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN) rising from #75 to #12 in 2009, possibly
indicating a turn of the tide in consumer spending.

Gary A. Williams, founder & CEO of wRatings, says, "After a disastrous year,
consumers are starting to show signs they will pay up for certain travel
amenities. The biggest challenge is how they all tend to copycat each other. To
grow revenue, Travel firms need to inject new ideas from other industries.
Innovative pricing like JetBlue`s all-you-can-fly pass is one example." In 2009,
JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU) is the only airline to make the top 20 ranking.

"In this report, we discuss how successful hoteliers can differentiate
themselves via strong emphasis on the guest experience rather than simply
slashing services and offerings," says Nick Dryfuse, Principal with Capgemini's
Media & Entertainment group. "Hotels must develop their 'Branded Guest
Experience' via two means: integrating their technology, business process and
talent into a common guest experience platform and by realizing that
transformation is a way of life, not a one time event."

To generate the report, a weekly survey is conducted with a representative
sample of US consumers and business executives throughout every quarter. The
firm has been conducting the surveys since 1999. A W Score of 100 means the
business built the highest customer and economic advantages when compared to the
1,200+ stocks in the wRatings coverage.

2009 Rank 2008 Rank Company W Score
1 2 DryShips (NASDAQ: DRYS) 88.4
2 38 Union Pacific(NYSE: UNP) 85.4
3 14 Rockwell Collins(NYSE: COL) 79.3
4 20 Navios Maritime (NYSE: NM) 78.0
5 29 Kirby (NYSE: KEX) 77.2
6 43 Northrop Grumman(NYSE: NOC) 65.0
7 8 Carnival Corp.(NYSE: CCL) 64.7
8 18 Precision Castparts(NYSE: PCP) 63.7
9 3 Wyndham Hotel Group(NYSE: WYN) 63.5
10 1 Choice Branded-Hotels(NYSE: CHH) 62.8
11 21 Bally Technologies (NYSE: BYI) 62.6
12 75 Vail Resorts(NYSE: MTN) 61.7
13 11 Honeywell(NYSE: HON) 61.5
14 22 Goodrich (NYSE: GR) 58.1
15 42 BE Aerospace(NASDAQ: BEAV) 57.9
16 63 JetBlue Airways(NASDAQ: JBLU) 57.8
17 12 International Game Tech(NYSE: IGT) 56.1
18 6 InterContinental Hotels(NYSE: IHG) 55.7
19 16 Norfolk Southern(NYSE: NSC) 53.6
20 4 Embraer(NYSE: ERJ) 53.3

You can access a complimentary version of the report here for a limited time:

Capgemini: http://www.us.capgemini.com/lp/0809_BGEHospitality.asp?chnid=87
wRatings: http://www.wratings.com/projections.php?s=2009

Individual company reports are for sale at wRatings.com, or via entitlement to
institutional investors on the FactSet and CapitalIQ financial research
platforms.

wRatings Corporation
Beth Green, 703-788-6532
beth.green@wratings.com

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