Wow, I've been out to the loop for a while. It's good to see that FT's are looking at the orbitz situation with an open mind.

I too have experienced some technical glitches since signing up for the beta several months ago and actually took the extra five minutes to send an email off and also to submit my suggestions on the site. Unlike other sites I've provided constructive criticism to, the folks at Orbitz actually took the time to implement some of them. I'm glad to see that suggestions don't end up in a 'black hole' over there.

If you've experienced problems, might I suggest that you let them know so that they have a chance to fix it before the full launch happens in June? JMHO...

I think that is reasonable. Let 'em know what irks ye - see if they respond.

I think that is reasonable. Let 'em know what irks ye - see if they respond.

---

...The scene is the command center of Orbitz LLC, a new Internet travel agency due to launch in coming days. "It's the most amazing thing," says Louise Gilliam, an executive recruiter in Dallas who quit booking with the airlines and on other Internet travel sites soon after Orbitz in February started selling tickets on a trial run. "It's like going back to airline service 20 years ago, when you could actually talk to a real person."
http://public.wsj.com/sn/y/SB99134873766425901.html

Orbitz takes off: Will it bring turbulence or smooth skies?

http://www.zdnet.com/ecommerce/stori...765338,00.html


Orbitz set to enter thriving online travel market

http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/ne...ont/030068.htm

Quick sign up today.

I can't find an equivalent to Travelocity's Dream Map. Even that "crippled" tool helped accelerate searches for multiple destination possibilities. Does Orbitz have such a tool?

Orbitz's Rude Awakening

A First-Week Report on the Airlines' New Site

After more than a year on the runway, Orbitz, the much-anticipated travel booking site backed by five leading U.S. airlines, launched last week, generating lots of interest but encountering some turbulence.

The site hadn't been up for more than a few hours before Travel section readers began opining. Sample e-mail: "I'd be happy to provide a detailed list of problems I've encountered on an effort to buy a simple round-trip ticket to [Chicago] O'Hare, which has ballooned into an ordeal of unanswered e-mails and futile phone calls."

Several participants in Monday's online travel chat on washingtonpost.com complained of glitchy service. "Been playing around on Orbitz for the last hour � you can get fares for domestic flights but not international right now, not even Canada or Mexico," griped one chatster. "The site returns a 'no flights found' error for the four different international destinations I tried," said another.

Our own early tests confirmed those ground-level reports � some of our searches, particularly for international flights, came up empty, and the site was occasionally unavailable. System overload, "routine maintenance" and a cut phone cable were reasons cited for Monday's problems. By midweek, the site appeared to be functioning more smoothly, quickly locating fares. Orbitz sold more than $3.3 million in travel on Tuesday, its first full day of operation, said spokeswoman Carol Jouzaitis, "so we must be doing something right."

More important: Do Orbitz's fares stack up against the competition's? We put the site to the test last week, pricing three advance-purchase trips from Washington � to Chicago, Los Angeles and Madrid. We checked the same itineraries on three other popular sites � Expedia, Travelocity and Cheaptickets � and on Qixo, a fare-comparison site. Sometimes Orbitz found the best price; sometimes it didn't.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...-2001Jun7.html

Orbitz.com last week overcame a sputtering start to become the fastest-growing site on the Internet, according to Nielsen/NetRatings

http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200...html?tag=mn_hd


ORBITZ.COM SCORES IN INTERNET DEBUT

http://www.adage.com/interactive/dai...010618-12.html

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 06-17-2001).]

Orbitz Takes Off, Hitting Some Turbulence

...But arguably no dot-com has been subject to as much scrutiny before its debut as Orbitz, the new online travel agency owned by five of the nation's biggest airlines.

Consumer groups have decried it as anticompetitive, a sentiment echoed (not surprisingly) by the company's rivals, most notably Expedia and Travelocity.

"I really believe Orbitz will become a platform for collusion," Mark Silbergeld, co-director of the Consumers Union's Washington office, said after Orbitz's first week of operation. "All the major competitors in an already highly concentrated industry now have a platform from which to agree how to market their tickets."

Orbitz executives respond that since all the fares are made public on the site, price collusion would be easily spotted. Furthermore, they say, the federal Department of Transportation reviewed such anticompetitive concerns before clearing Orbitz in early April. (An investigation by the Justice Department is ongoing.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/17/travel/17CYBER.html

...This auspicious beginning, however, has not obscured one fact: Orbitz, which promises to provide the "most low fares to Planet Earth," is in demand.

As a player in the largest category of online consumer spending--namely, leisure travel--Orbitz reported gross online bookings of more than $1 million during its first day of operation and more than $3.3 million by its third day. Though still reporting delays during the second week, "Orbitz maintained a steady pace" of sales, said Carol Jouzaitis, an Orbitz spokeswoman. "While the call center is not where we would like it to be, we have significantly improved the situation, and we are still working on it."

http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-201...html?tag=cd_mh

Orbitz, the new travel site backed by five major airlines, has done a nice job of attracting lookers in its first week or so of operations, and already is a player in the online travel game, according to a new report.

But the site has done less well at converting lookers into bookers, according to an assessment issued by Boston-based competitive intelligence service Compete Inc., which says that Orbitz outdrew Travelocity.com by 300,000 visitors in its first week.

http://boston.internet.com/news/arti...789041,00.html

AND:

Some of Europe's largest airlines are set to unveil the details of a joint venture flight booking website next week.

Nine airlines, including Air France, British Airways and KLM have colluded in the online travel portal, which looks set to give the likes of Expedia and Travelocity a rough ride - albeit a year after it was first announced.

http://www.silicon.com/public/door?R...EQSTR1=newsnow

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 06-22-2001).]

Well, I guess the site has been around for only two and a half weeks now - Orbitz is still garbering a lot of attention - as it should. Orbitz is still giving away a trip an hour for registered users until July 15. I want a free trip!

Good luck!

---

Airlines Jettison Their Incentives
For Making Reservations Online

Orbitz spokeswoman Carol Jouzaitis says Orbitz got off the ground without allowing a 24-hour hold because prelaunch consumer feedback showed that Internet customers had other priorities -- electronic alerts on flight status, for example, and news updates with pertinent information about airports and passengers' destinations. Ms. Jouzaitis adds, however, that Orbitz is now considering offering the 24-hour-hold.

Lufthansa in Nine-Airline Internet Venture

http://www2.hand elsblatt.com/hbiwwwangebot/fn/relhbi/sfn/buildhbee/cn/bp_artikel_e/strucid/PAGE_201096/pageid/PAGE_201096/docid/434283/SH/0/depot/0/index.html


http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum94/HTML/005666.html

AND;

Orbitz' Web-only Fares Give Sale Shoppers Most Savings
CHICAGO, June 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The summer fare sales are on. On Orbitz, the new travel site founded by the world's leading airlines, finding the best fare sale prices has never been faster or simpler.

Many airlines this week reduced selected summer sale fares, most by 20 percent or more, for travelers who book on the Internet. And on Orbitz, travelers will find the web's biggest collection of summer airfare deals to a wide variety of domestic and international destinations.

``Whether you frequently book travel online or are trying it for the first time, shopping for Web-only fares is easier on Orbitz than any other Web site,'' said Michael Sites, VP of Product Marketing for Orbitz. ``When you do a search to the place you want to travel, results pop up in an easy-to-read grid. Web-only fares are marked with a 'red dot,' so it's easy to find the lowest fares.''

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010627/sfw114.html

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 06-27-2001).]