Orbitz in Trouble?

CHICAGO – Local ticketing darling Orbitz got a wake-up call on Tuesday.
One of two main competitors to Orbitz, Expedia, posted a profitable quarter for the first time in the company’s history. With a notable decline in the airline industry following the September 11 attacks, the news is surprising and strikingly unique...

“People are booking more than just airline tickets,” [Robert] Green [an analyst with Briefing.com] said. “The vacation packages and the hotel rates that are only available through Expedia are very successful. That’s a hint to where the industry is going. You can get a ticket anywhere, but where do you get a vacation?”

Now, for a company like Orbitz, which offers hotel and other packages but focuses mostly on airline sales, this news could bode troubles, Green says.

“If the trend is toward adding value to just a ticket then Orbitz is in trouble because the airlines have never been proven to be really good at packaging complete vacation solutions. They are going to have to learn that or partner with someone else,” Green said. “If the trend in the industry is toward only a ticket then I think Expedia is in trouble.”

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