Hostilities towards online agencies began last July as Google decided to sign a partnership with the company ITA, the latter specialized in information software on airlines transportation (exactly the same software usually used by airlines companies and Travel Agencies to find flights information). Google is planning to buy it for $700 million. Here is the heart of the problem…
ITA would enable Google to strengthen its powerful search engine with a tool to find online travels and flights at the cutting edge of the online travel technology.
Some competitors and huge online travel agency likeExpedia, TripAdvisor and Microsoft have counterattacked with the launch of Fairsearch.org, a professional partnership created to counter the ITA buy-out and to buy themselves to keep their business safe in front of the giant Google.
The Fairsearch.org site is stressing the danger for the competitors: prices would increase whereas there should be less choice for the customers. Google plant s here like a bomb in the online travel market being positioned as the most terrifying competitors.
Therefore this company is asking the US Ministry of Justice to stop the acquisition, similar to what has be done in 2008 regarding an advertising partnership between Google and Yahoo.
If Google takes over ITA then problems could occur: travel agencies' agreements should be not renewed or prices not updated and according to Thomas Barnett, a lawyer working for Expedia, the US Ministry of Justice could only express some reservation, making consequences likely difficult to evaluate.
The ideal for online travel agencies would be that the giant Google stops its purchase of ITA…
However Google explains that the ITA buy-out should improve the tools to make the online travel search easier. Google denies having the overall objective of setting the prices or selling the airlines tickets on its own.
So do think Google will be able to have the role of a online travel agency or is it better to leave this role to specialists like Expedia and TripAdvisor? The debate is not closed for the moment…
By Isabelle Masseglia & Amandine Amphoux.
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