America Online Launches New Business Travel Center With Industry-Leading Airline, Car Rental and Travel Planning Partners
April 12, 1999 09:48 AM
DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 12, 1999--
AOL Forms Agreements Totaling Over $20 Million with American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Avis and Hertz
Preview Travel, TRIP.com, and Vicinity to Provide Powerful Travel Planning Tools to AOL Members
91% of Internet Users Find it Easier Booking Travel Reservations Online; Online Travel Industry Forecast to Reach $10 Billion by 2002
America Online, the world's leading interactive service, today announced the launch of its new Business Travel Center, offering a wide range of convenient travel planning tools and features for professionals and time-pressed AOL members.
As part of the launch of the Business Travel Center, AOL also announced the addition of several new premier partners including American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Avis and Hertz. This new lineup of sponsors will be reinforced by some of the most convenient travel planning functionality available online, delivered by Preview Travel, TheTrip.com, and Vicinity.
The new Business Travel Center, available at Keyword: Business Travel, is part of AOL's Travel Channel, the most popular travel destination in cyberspace according to Media Metrix.
With sponsors like American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Avis and Hertz, AOL's new Business Travel Center will bring an even greater level of convenience to time-pressed travel planners by offering easy access to schedules, prices frequent flier information and online booking for travel needs.
Whether planning all aspects of a trip or searching for the major brands in the travel industry, AOL members will be able to research reservation availability, check prices and book flights, rental cars and hotels more easily than ever before.
In addition to the lineup of airline and car rental sponsors, the AOL Business Travel Center will offer Trip Express, powered by Preview Travel, AOL's primary provider of travel services, which allows AOL members to book airfare, car rental and hotel rooms through one simple interactive feature.
A new mapping feature from Vicinity will also be available allowing AOL members to access interactive street-level maps and driving directions to and from locations anywhere in the U.S.
Through TheTrip.com, AOL members can check the status of any flight in the U.S., send automatic emails notifying colleagues of their flight arrival and even find the average cost of a ticket on major U.S. routes.
"Launching the new Business Travel Center is an important milestone in AOL's quest to deliver faster, more convenient alternatives to traditionally time consuming activities," said Jonathan Sacks, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the AOL service.
"With today's business travelers leading increasingly hectic lives, busy people want access to brand names they know and trust -- names like American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Avis and Hertz.
"But busy consumers also demand convenience, and with over one million rate changes every day in the travel industry and more than 50 million different travel rates available to consumers, it's AOL's job to help our busy members simplify the process by offering them the best brands, helping them find the best rates and then allowing them to book their plans quickly and easily. AOL's Business Travel Center delivers on all those scores."
About the AOL Travel Channel
The AOL Travel Channel is the leader in the online travel market - a market that Jupiter Communications forecasts to reach $10 billion in sales by 2002.
The AOL Travel Channel reaches two-and-a-half times more users than its nearest competitor according to Media Metrix, and in partnership with Preview Travel and the major travel providers, the Channel provides a one-stop shop for air, car, and hotel reservations, as well as vacation packages and cruises.
Among the most popular areas of the service are the Destination Guides, featuring high-quality content from Fodor's; Bargain Box, a comprehensive selection of travel bargains available offline and online; and Cruise Critic, the online world's most trusted source for cruise news and reviews.
According to the 1998 AOL/Roper Starch Cyberstudy, 91% of regular or occasional Internet users say it is much easier or somewhat easier to book travel reservations or tickets online than it is through the offline alternative.
About America Online
Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies, and e-commerce services.
America Online, Inc. operates: two worldwide Internet services, America Online, with more than 16 million members, and CompuServe, with approximately 2 million members; several leading Internet brands including ICQ and Digital City, Inc.; the Netscape Netcenter and AOL.COM portals; and the Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers.
Through its strategic alliance with Sun Microsystems, the Company develops and offers easy-to-deploy, end-to-end e-commerce and enterprise solutions for companies operating in the Net Economy.
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