Kayak.com Unveils Air Search Engine Based On ITA Software
Establishes New Standard of Air Search Excellence, With Wider Selection of Low Fares than Any Other Website
For the First Time, Consumers Can Now Easily See "Direct to Airline" Pricing Without Online Agency Service Fees
NORWALK, CT - Kayak.com, a comparison shopping website that helps consumers make informed decisions in their travel planning, today announced the incorporation of technology from ITA Software into its newly launched consumer travel site.
"This is a watershed event for consumers," Steve Hafner, CEO and co-founder said. "Most airline websites show only a fraction of their available flights and fares, while many online agencies charge consumers booking fees of up to $20 per ticket for using their search services. Visitors to Kayak.com can now see more options than any other travel site, including airline-direct airfares that exclude service fees commonly charged by online agencies like Expedia and Travelocity. And with our MultiBook(tm) technology, consumers can choose where to actually book their trip."
Kayak.com is the first comparison shopping site to use ITA Software's QPX engine. QPX is faster, more efficient, and more flexible than traditional airline mainframe-based systems.
"We are pleased to provide our industry-leading faring engine to Kayak.com," said Jeremy Wertheimer, ITA Software's CEO and founder. "This is the same professional-grade software that powers airfare searches on many leading airline sites and online travel agencies."
"This was a logical next step in improving Kayak.com's comprehensiveness and ease-of-use," said Paul English, Kayak.com CTO and co-founder. "Our search engine is already advanced, enabling consumers to find travel information from over 100 websites with just one click and then filtering results with state-of-the-art Rich Internet Application (RIA) technology. But now we've significantly reduced the time required to process and confirm prices and availability for billions of flights from more than 551 airlines. Our airline partners will realize dramatic cost savings by reducing our search volume loads on their mainframe-based GDS systems. And best of all, Kayak.com remains absolutely free to use for consumers."
Visitors to websites incorporating Kayak.com technology, including USAToday.com and America Online's soon-to-launch travel search site, will benefit from the same improvements in air search results and speed.
About ITA Software
QPX by ITA Software, Inc. www.itasoftware.com is the world's leading airfare pricing and shopping system. QPX delivers significant cost-savings and powerful functionality to leading travel companies including Orbitz, Alaska Airlines, America West Airlines, Continental Airlines, Cendant, and others. ITA Software was founded by computer scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
About Kayak.com
Created by co-founders of Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia, Kayak.com is a comparison-shopping website that helps consumers make informed decisions in their travel planning. The site, which officially launched February 7, 2005, offers a comprehensive search engine that scours over 100 online travel sites, providing prices and itineraries for more than 551 airlines and 85,000 hotels. Kayak.com displays more choices of available itinerary/price combinations than any other travel site and is the only travel site with MultiBook(TM), a breakthrough technology that lets consumers choose where to purchase their trip. It is also the first travel site to integrate user-created reviews and ratings and other relevant travel information with real-time prices and availability. Kayak.com's investors include Sequoia Capital, America Online, Inc. and General Catalyst Partners. For additional background, please visit www.kayak.com.
Source: Kayak.com