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(c) Elliott Publishing.

Orbitzal Reaction: A Note

Since Orbitz' four original airline owners -- Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, and United Airlines -- first announced their operation (and, as I've said, traditional travel agency groups challenged them), several things have occurred.

  • American Airlines signed on as an equity owner, making the five largest airlines in the United States the primary owners of Orbitz.

  • Orbitz obtained a sixth owner that, it says, is outside the airline industry but which it otherwise will not reveal.

  • The U.S. Department of Justice said it would investigate the new venture. Orbitz says it asked for the investigation; the rest of the travel industry credits travel agent groups for starting it.

  • The U.S. Senate's Commerce Committee scheduled hearings for next week on online airline sales in general, with Orbitz and Travelocity.com officials scheduled to testify, and then rescheduled the hearings, likely for next month.

  • The Interactive Travel Services Association, the online travel industry's trade group, issued a snippy news release condemning Orbitz as "the functional equivalent of an OPEC for airlines." When I called ITSA on the comment, a spokesman replied that its members had heard the Orbitz airline owners would not make their Web-only fares available elsewhere. A request that some ITSA member tell me this on the record remains unanswered. This is a shame. ITSA is my favorite trade group, headed by the best spokesman online travel has; I hate to see the group toss around unsupported charges.

Back to the Orbitz column.

David Kirby is the editor of Interactive Travel Report. His column appears on Friday. You can reach him at david@ticked.com.