"When you look at engineering complexity, this is a task that's never been done before. It's like the difference between Windows 2000 and DOS," said Jeffrey Katz, who stepped down as chief executive of Swissair in July to lead the company. "Orbitz is the only travel planning tool that simultaneously searches 100 percent of flights and fares available."
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/25/te...gy/25TRAV.html

According to a report released today by PhoCusWright, Inc., the leading independent Internet travel intelligence company, airline Web sites will account for 58% of air travel bookings in 2000, a jump from 53% in 1999. The PhoCusWright Report, Airlines And The Internet: Nonstop Growth and Competition, cites four main reasons for this growth - greater airline investment in technology, online agency diversification to non airline products, continued emphasis on customer loyalty programs, and broader online distribution strategies to reach multiple markets.

``Given the increased popularity of e-tickets and the emphasis on Web site utility, more and more consumers are using the Internet as their primary method of purchasing tickets, and are going direct to the airline sites to buy,'' said Lorraine Sileo, vice president of information services at PhoCusWright. ``With online commissions at 5% or lower, airlines are continuing to put pressure on both online and offline travel agencies who depend on airline ticket sales.''
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001002/ct_phocusw.html

The success with its own sits means AirTran is not desperate to join a multi-carrier Web distribution efforts such as Orbitz. The carrier signed the original letter of intent to join Orbitz �just to see what was going on,� Healy said.

Although AirTran hasn�t ruled out participation, it sees several significant obstacles. For one, any Internet fares offered by Orbitz participants must also be available through the site. �That would limit the advantages of AirTran.com,� Healy noted. Proposed shares of costs to market Orbitz also wouldn�t be proportional to the size of the partner airlines, he added.
http://www.aviationnow.com/TwoShare/...82909391109890

Hotwire - The New Online Travel Service - Launches! Site Delivers Big Savings Without Guessing Games

Completely New Concept, Backed by the Most Trusted Brands, Offers a Faster And Easier Way to Buy Travel Online at Significant Savings

Consumers seeking the best deals on their travel plans got a big lift today with the launch of Hotwire -- a new Website (www.hotwire.com) for price-conscious consumers who want to save money without the usual hassles. Hotwire has partnered with the leading airlines to create a new service that will change the way leisure travelers buy airline tickets on the Web. With Hotwire, the most trusted carriers compete in an open market for consumer traveler's business -- creating a quick and easy process that provides travelers with discounts of up to 40% or more over traditional outlets. Hotwire delivers these big savings in just a few minutes versus the multiple hour research process travelers often go through when trying to save money on their travel plans.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001024/ca_hotwire.html

Will Priceline be outbid at its own game?

Known for its deep discounts on airline tickets (and its commercials featuring "Star Trek" icon William Shatner), Priceline.com Inc. has turned shopping upside down by becoming a bargain hunter's broker. For most of its 2 1/2 years online, the name-your-price Web site has thrived by finding customers willing to put in bids for goods and services, and then matching them with suppliers willing to sell on those terms.

But Priceline has stumbled in recent weeks, leading analysts to question how far its business model can stretch. And now a pair of new competitors are taking aim at Priceline's bread-and-butter business. Backed by major air carriers, these new sites say they'll offer improved systems for brokering tickets online. One site offers fliers a pool of seats similar to Priceline's, but claims to eliminate the hassle of deciding upon a bid. The other says it will offer more traditional ticket buying, but will make available a much broader selection of flights.
http://travel.wsj.com/n/SB972677588683335170-main.html

Since the topic at hand is efficiency and speed, let's get to the point: Two newer airfare websites are really good, some of the familiar ones are looking worse by comparison and several others are interesting and undependable. Finding good, low domestic fares is relatively easy, but the market for international fares is a lot messier.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...-2000Nov3.html

Looking for great deals on airfare? Smarter Living is proud to announce its newest partner - Hotwire! At Hotwire, a little
flexibility gets you BIG savings - up to 40 percent or more on the airlines you trust.

By partnering with American, United, US Airways, Northwest, Continental, and America West, Hotwire gives you access to low unpublished fares. At Hotwire, a great trip starts with a great deal. Start saving today!
http://www.SmarterLiving.com/hotwire112100

"There is no prohibition against deceitful practices" at Internet air fare sites, said Paul Stephen Dempsey, a University of Denver professor of transportation law and vice chairman of Frontier Airlines. "And there is no obligation that these sites provide the lowest fares or best routings."

Not all airlines are available through every Internet air fare site because not all of them pay to be listed in each of the four computer reservations systems: Apollo, Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan.
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/26/travel/26REP.html

Hotwire Adds TWA And Hawaiian Airlines

Getting a great deal on leisure travel got even easier today as Hotwire (www.hotwire.com) announced the addition of Trans World Airlines (TWA) and Hawaiian Airlines to its roster of top-notch airline partners. Successfully launched in late October, Hotwire is the easiest way for leisure travelers to get the best deals from trusted brands. Fares on both TWA and Hawaiian Airlines flights will become available this week, giving Hotwire customers even more locations for great trips -- and additional inventory to bring them great deals. Partnerships like these are another example of Hotwire's continued commitment to provide users unparalleled travel savings.

``We want to give our customers the best possible way to save money on leisure travel -- and by expanding
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001130/ca_hotwire.html


AND:

Bring a Virtual Map When Planning a Trip Online

When Anggred Sutardja set out to plan a vacation to the Middle East this year, she was aiming for luxury and a big dose of Arab culture.

She got it from 12degrees.com (www.12degrees.com), a Web site that put her in touch with a boutique travel agency in Egypt.
http://travel.wsj.com/n/SB975702885950486958-main.html



[This message has been edited by doc (edited 12-05-2000).]

Twenty states signaled opposition to a planned industrywide Internet airline-reservation system, citing fears of online collusion in ticket pricing by the major carriers.

In a filing with federal regulators, attorneys general in New York, Iowa and California raised sweeping antitrust issues arising from the planned joint venture, known as Orbitz and backed by the five major airlines and scores of others world-wide.
http://public.wsj.com/sn/y/SB979171021860248204.html


AND:

Orbitz Statement Responding to Letter to U.S. DOT Secretary Slater By State Attorneys General 1/11/01
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010111/il_orbitz.html

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 01-11-2001).]

Like the technology behind the yet-to-be-launched, airlines-owned booking site Orbitz (scheduled to start beta testing next month), Expedia's search engine lets consumers sort options by airline, lowest price, shortest flights, and departure and arrival times. And once travelers have selected a flight, Expedia's improved system gives them the option to book an air/hotel package the company says will, in most cases, save money over buying the components separately.

Expedia's Suzi LeVine says the revamped site gives consumers more choice and control without the "firehose approach" of Orbitz's underlying technology, now available in a test version through ITA Software (www.itasoftware.com) and for actual booking through a Canada-based company called Travelbyus.com. (Tickets purchased at www.travelbyus.com carry a $5 service charge.)
http://www.usatoday.com/life/travel/...29-expedia.htm

In a story March 1 about Northwest Airlines and alliance partner KLM Royal Dutch Airlines eliminating commissions to Internet travel sites selling tickets in the United States and Canada, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Hotwire was one of those sites. Hotwire was not paid commissions, so the airlines' decision does not affect the company.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forumcgi/search.cgi

Airlines have stood by and fumed over the last few years as millions of dollars in ticket-sales commissions slipped through their fingers and into the pockets of online travel agencies Travelocity and Expedia. Now, after much fanfare � and some delay � the airlines are getting ready to launch their counterattack: Orbitz, a travel startup backed by the major carriers. With this venture, they hope to bring the bulk of ticket sales back under their wing.
http://biz.yahoo.com/st/010306/22542.html


When congress held hearings last month on the proposed mergers of United Airlines with US Airways and American Airlines with TWA, competitors had nothing good to say. "These megamergers are bad for customers, they're bad for communities, and they're bad for their employees," said Continental Chairman Gordon Bethune, whose testimony was echoed by his counterpart at Delta. But industry leaders are all for consolidation of a different sort: They want regulators to give the nod to Orbitz, the online travel site owned by Continental, Delta, American, United and Northwest.
http://biz.yahoo.com/st/010306/22540.html

The key to everything is going to be access. If the airlines limit their best fares to Orbitz and their sites only, they should not be allowed to proceed. If they are required to list all of their fares on all systems (CRS systems) then let the games begin.

Good point!

Orbitz's opponents have wasted no time exploiting the anxiety caused by the recent merger moves. American Society of Travel Agents executive Paul Ruden denounces Orbitz as "a cartel of the airlines that means to do damage to the competition." Ruden fears the prospect of five of the world's largest airlines sharing information on routes and pricing. Travelocity executive Bruce Charendoff argues that Orbitz "creates an antitrust problem of the highest magnitude." And Consumers Union officials have warned the Justice Department that Orbitz could result in "reduced competition in the already less-than-competitive air-passenger service industry."
http://www.thestandard.com/article/d...,22540,00.html