Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport - Santa Claus himself hit the tarmac this morning to personally direct Korean Air's first flight from Seoul to DFW since October, a resumption of international service worth more than $140 million to the North Texas economy. Korean Air will again operate three non-stop flights a week from DFW, after suspending service post September 11.

This latest business boost at DFW confirmed Airport expectations that travel will continue to improve during the Christmas-New Year's holiday travel period and run at approximately 85 percent of last year's passenger levels. The DFW travel season runs from Wednesday, December 19 through Sunday, January 6. The Airport is forecasting more than 1.7 million passengers during that time period, compared to just over two million last year.

"We are encouraged and remain cautiously optimistic that travelers are returning to the skies, especially over the holidays, and that's a tribute to carriers like Korean Air and our two hub airlines, American and Delta," says Kevin Cox, senior executive vice president of DFW Airport. "As our carriers continue to restore and expand service and the flying public gets even more comfortable and confident about traveling, our numbers will continue to rebound and we will continue to beat our conservative expectations."

The Airport rolls outs its highly-successful Holiday Helpers program on December 20 and 21, forecast as the two busiest travel days of the upcoming holiday season. The largest holiday travel initiative of any airport in the country, Holiday Helpers will again feature 200 Airport volunteers and Ambassadors assisting passengers, live entertainment in all four terminals and special giveaways for passengers.

The Airport will also add Ask DFW to it's www.dfwairport.com web page to answer travel questions and post special holiday travel information. The Ask DFW service will be available under HOLIDAY RESOURCES from Monday, December 17 - Friday, December 21. Questions will be answered 7:00 am- 6:00 pm.

"The inaugural Holiday Helpers initiative over Thanksgiving was extremely well-received by our guests and we felt it would once again add to the enjoyment and convenience of travelers during the most hectic travel days," says Joe Lopano, executive vice president of marketing at DFW. "Plus our own Airport employees again wanted to be in the terminals to help our guests. That speaks volumes to their personal commitment to customer service."

Holiday Helpers and Airport Ambassadors will assist passengers with luggage and directions, provide free newspapers and prepare travelers for security screening. The Airport has spent considerable time educating travelers on new security rules, which combined with 17 security entrances, gives DFW Airport some of the shortest security lines in the nation.

Holiday travelers will also get a chance to view new public artwork from the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth. The City of Dallas will be placing a Pegasus in the terminal, as part of its Dallas Soars! program. And two "Texas size" longhorn sculptures will be displayed as part of the Fort Worth BulLovArts Exhibition. The artwork will be moved from terminal to terminal so as many passengers as possible can enjoy their unique presence.

Santa Claus will be scouting the terminals on December 21, and will be joined by Airport volunteers distributing slinkys, stress balls, stress relief lotion, candy canes, jelly belly candy packs, coloring books and kid antlers. The ever-popular Carolina rockers will again be strategically placed in baggage claim areas. Travelers will also find a number of drink sampling opportunities and a variety of discounts and promotions at the Airport's 200 concessionaires.

Travelers and "meeters and greeters" at the Airport can also stay connected with free local phone service provided by Verizon and free Internet access from AT&T.