Travelzoo is celebrating the milestone of its having signed up
10 million subscribers, by sending that 10 millionth subscriber
into space. Matthew Wagner (below, middle, with Dr. Norm Thagard,
on the left and Travelzoo Boss Ralph Bartel to the right) from
Santa Fe Springs, California, was presented a ticket for a
suborbital spaceflight by Travelzoo Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer, Ralph Bartel.
The ticket was presented aboard a zero gravity preparation
flight over Cape Canaveral, Florida and was launched and recovered
right from NASA's Shuttle Landing Facility. Wagner is the 10
millionth subscriber to Travelzoo® publications.
Wagner, an industrial real estate broker, became
Travelzoo’s 10 millionth subscriber when he signed up for the
company’s U.S. Top 20® e-mail newsletter. Travelzoo
handpicks the hottest travel deals and publishes them every
Wednesday in its Top 20 e-mail newsletter.
“My dad is a big fan of Travelzoo’s Top 20 and he
recommended that I sign up for it. I had no idea that I’d get
a once in a lifetime opportunity like this. I can’t believe
it!” said Wagner, the 10 millionth subscriber.
“The zero gravity flight was a great way to prepare for my
space trip and I am so excited about being on a suborbital
flight.“
“We are thrilled to celebrate the fact that Matthew is our
10 millionth subscriber and award him with this fantastic
prize,” said Ralph Bartel.
“We are very proud of achieving this milestone for our
publications. Space is the next travel frontier and we wanted to
provide our subscriber with the newest form of travel.”
The suborbital spaceflight prize given to Wagner will allow him
to experience weightlessness and view the Earth from 62 miles. The
spaceflight will be operated by Space Adventures®. The flight
is expected to take place in 2008.
To give Wagner a taste of what the feeling of weightlessness
will be like and for the official presentation of his ticket to
space, Travelzoo chartered a zero gravity preparation flight (also
known as parabolic flight) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Wagner was accompanied by Veteran NASA Astronaut Dr. Norman Thagard
and photographed in Zero-G by ANN's temporarily weightless (and for
WAY too short a time...) Jim Campbell. Zero gravity flight is used
by astronauts to train for space missions and was used for the
weightless scenes in the movie ‘Apollo 13’.
The Zero-G program is an FAA Part 121 certified Commercial
service provided by the Zero-Gravity Corporation, which offers
these space-age rides to erstwhile astronauts aboard modified
Boeing 727s.
On April 6, Travelzoo announced that the company’s
publications now reach more than 10 million subscribers. This
represents the total number of unduplicated subscribers to
Travelzoo’s U.S. Top 20 e-mail newsletter, its
Newsflash™ e-mail alert service and its U.K. Top 20™
e-mail newsletter.
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