FLYR needs more press. How PTVL got this press and FLYR has gotten none is why PTVL is higher valued. It doesn't matter if the news is correct, everyone will assume they are the leader. FLYR needs press!
zdnet.com
Travel (Air, Hotel, Car, etc) Revenue online 1997: $816 million, 2002: $8.6 billion
Though Preview Travel Inc. (Nasdaq: PVTL) has emerged as a front-runner as an
online travel agency next to Travelocity and Microsoft's Expedia, it could get
trampled as the airlines expand and improve their presence on the Web, said
Vanderbilt. Travel arranged though online agencies dropped to 52 percent last
year from 79 percent in 1996, according to Jupiter, as carriers, such as American
Airlines and United stepped up their online efforts and sold directly to their
customers. Preview Travel's saving grace may be expansion into the European
market and engaging in economies of scale as profit margins and its customer
base dip.
The real challenge for these players will be hanging onto customers once they've
bought something. "Switching costs, the cost to a customer to go to a
competitor, is extremely low," said analyst Nicole Vanderbilt at Jupiter
Communications Inc., a market research firm. Online, there is no such thing as a
good location. |
