Cheap Tickets Inc. –

HONOLULU – Cheap Tickets Inc., a retailer of discount airline tickets, went public March 19, offering 3.5 million shares at $15 apiece.

The stocks priced within the company’s $14 to $15 filing range. Proceeds from the offering are estimated at $52 million and will be used for general corporate purposes.

The initial public offering, which left 20 million shares outstanding, was underwritten by William Blair & Co. and Dain Rauscher Wessels.

Phillips-Smith Specialty Retail Group III was the sole venture investor and no shares were sold. The company has experienced some financial fluctuations, earning $674,000 in 1996, losing $1.01 million in 1997 and again gaining $1.07 million in 1998.

Cheap Tickets, founded in August 1996, makes bulk purchases of non-published fares from more than 30 airlines including American West, American, Continental, Northwest and TWA. The company then resells the tickets to the public at significantly discounted prices. Tickets can be purchased through call centers, retail stores and via the Internet at www.cheaptickets.com.

CeCe Smith and Donald Phillips, both general partner of Phillips-Smith Specialty Retail Group, have been directors since July 1997 and June 1998, respectively.

Cheap Tickets – Selected Financial

(in thousands, except per share data)

Year Ended December 31,

1996 1997 1998

Net revenue 64,596 102,849 171,114

Net earnings (loss) 674 -1,009 1,065

Earnings (loss) per share 0.05 -0.09 0.04