Are you still short the .com travel mania?
>>WASHINGTON — Orbitz, the Internet travel seller owned by five U.S. airlines, is anti-competitive in requiring participating carriers to post the same fares on Orbitz that are available on any other Web site, a travel-agent group told a U.S. commission.
An agreement the 43 carriers sign in return for a booking-fee rebate amounts to a promise "not to compete with Orbitz on price," said William Maloney, president of the 24,000-member American Society of Travel Agents.
The criticism came during the first hearing of the National Commission to Ensure Consumer Information and Choice in the Airline Industry, a panel created by Congress in 2000 to examine the travel-agent industry and information available to consumers. Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines and Northwest Airlines have invested $204.8 million in Orbitz since founding it in February 2000 as a way to reduce ticket-distribution costs.
American is willing to share Web fares with other outlets that commit long term to low costs, George Nicoud, associate general counsel for the airline, said in testimony to the panel.
Gary Doernhoefer, an Orbitz vice president, denied that Orbitz is anti-competitive. Chicago-based Orbitz has increased competition by improving technology that has made it cheaper for airlines to offer Web fares, Doernhoefer said in an interview. |
