Mercedes-Benz USA, Bank of America and The History Channel will be the first companies to provide advertisements on America West aircraft, effective Dec. 15, 2003. America West is the first airline in the U.S. to launch tray table advertising.

America West Vice President of Marketing Ken Feldman said, "On board advertising provides customers a novel opportunity to learn about the products and services offered by quality, forward-thinking advertisers."

"SkyMedia is proud and excited to be in partnership with America West, one of the nations premier airlines," said Nick Pajic, president of SkyMedia. "With an average domestic flight time of 2.5 hours, our advertisers will be able to achieve a level of penetration, impact and recall unmatched by virtually any other medium."

"Tray table advertising, implemented in an appealing and appropriate way, will be a ‘win-win-win proposition for America West, its customers and our advertisers," added Laurence Hallier, principal shareholder and chairman of SkyMedia.

"Every company looks for different yet effective ways to reach their customers," said Niles Barlow, of Mercedes-Benz USA. "Advertising of this kind will help us reach current customers, as well as potential Mercedes-Benz owners."

"Bank of America enjoys a longstanding relationship with America West and this program allows us to further expand and complement our relationship," added Melissa Welch, vice president, Partnership Marketing, Bank of America. "As the card issuer for the FlightFund Visa, this medium is a perfect way for us to reach the people who will value our product."

"The History Channel is pleased to be one of the first companies to use this new, highly-targeted advertising medium," said Michael Mohamad, Senior Vice President of Marketing for The History Channel. "It will allow us to communicate to an important audience, over an extended period of time, our commitment to provide the most intelligent and entertaining television programming available."

Todays announcement was made at a news conference in New York City. Terms of the agreement between Sky Media International and America West were not disclosed.

Founded in 1983 and proudly celebrating its 20-year anniversary in 2003, America West Airlines is the nations eighth- largest airline and the only carrier formed since deregulation to achieve major airline status. Today, America West serves 92 destinations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

SkyMedia International specializes in on-board aircraft advertising. For more information about its tray table product, including sample downloadable images, please visit www.skymediabiz.com.