Is “Google Travel” the future of travel search?
In July 2010, Google announced an agreement to acquire ITA Software, for $700 million.
ITA provides search technology and connectivity between airlines and client-facing web sites such as ORBITZ and KAYAK.
Acquiring ITA will empower Google to provide answers to consumers search queries itself, instead of leaving that function to the online travel companies.
Ask Google,”What is the local time in New York?”, and Google provides the answer. Similarly with travel queries, Google will be able to provide fares directly from airlines.
Thus the intention to purchase ITA is under scrutiny by regulatory authorities.
Here is a preview of ITA’s search engine capabilities. CLICK HERE
This site, with the the inclusion of multi-sector journeys, and the country of sale information, is a very powerful tool.
ITA do not sell tickets but they do arm the consumer with as much information as a travel agent.
http://matrix.itasoftware.com/
ITA also provides a mobile app OnTheFly™ for iPhone and Android™ and bbmatrix.itasoftware.com for BlackBerry®.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 30th, 2011 at 10:23 pm and is filed under Industry News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
