OTA

Tag Archives for OTA.

Airline, hotel & online travel agency website usability study

A web usability surveyor based in Amsterdam named Usabilla just published results detailing user experiences on airline, hotel and Online Travel Agency websites. Participants were asked to perform simple tasks, such as “where would you click to get your boarding pass,†and leave additional comments about layout and other site features or functions. The full…

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Review of Google’s new Hotel Finder metasearch tool

Last month Google launched Hotel Finder, a new travel tool that searches for hotels based on city and other inputs from the user and returns Online Travel Agency (OTA) pricing. Limited to the United States for now, you can type in a city name or zip code and a small map will appear along with…

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US Airways sues pilots, mechanic steals; new airline routes; GDS extensions and profits galore

In other airline, hotel and travel industry news this week… Late last Friday US Airways filed a lawsuit against… its own pilots. Upset with what they’re calling an “illegal slowdown” by some East (read: US Airways) pilots, the carrier claims their West (read: America West) pilots are far more efficient in minimizing delays that impact…

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In other airline, hotel and travel industry news this week…

Several smaller stories in the airline, hotel & travel industry caught my attention this week and I’ve summarized them below: A Canadian couple sued Air Canada and won an award of C$12,000 (plus an apology) from the airline failing to serve them “in French” aboard their flights to the United States. Records show the passenger,…

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American Airlines is making headway & Online Travel Agency market share

American Airlines is holding firm in their commitment to further the evolution of how and where the carrier’s tickets are shopped and sold. As I previously blogged, American is seeking to reduce distribution costs by steering away from the legacy global distribution system (GDS) model used by most online travel agencies (OTAs). New signs are…

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Market leader Sabre joins the battle against American Airlines

Since I last posted about the battle between American Airlines and Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), an even bigger player entered the mix. Sabre, the global distribution system (GDS) birth child of American in the 1960s, initially downgraded American’s flights in their displays and eliminated discounts to the carrier last week, but American won an injunction…

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The evolution of airline ticket sales

My interest remains high watching a little battle unfold in the travel industry regarding airline ticket sales and distribution channels. As I blogged about previously, American pulled its flights from Orbitz after the Online Travel Agency (OTA) refused to connect directly to American’s availability, thereby skirting the traditional Global Distribution Systems (GDS). This, then, would…

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