Major travel web sites including Expedia Inc., Kayak.com, Sabre Holdings and Farelogix Inc. have come together to block Google’s proposed acquisition of ITA Software.
These travel sites have formed a coalition called FairSearch.org to persuade the Justice Department to block Google’s latest deal.
Here’s an excerpt from the Wall Street Journal:
Expedia Inc., Kayak.com, Sabre Holdings and Farelogix Inc.—which operate half-a-dozen leading online travel sites—are forming a coalition called FairSearch.org to persuade the Justice Department to block Google’s latest deal.
The companies are also launching a lobbying blitz on Capitol Hill, making the case to members of Congress that the deal would allow Google to dominate the online air-travel market by giving it control over the software that powers many of its rivals in the travel search business.
Google responds that buying the service will help it provide more useful information to consumers when they search for flight data.
But opponents of the deal worry that Google could limit access to ITA’s software, which is used by many of the flight-comparison sites operated by the members of the newly formed coalition….
Overall, ITA’s software handles about 65% of direct, online air-travel bookings for airlines, the company says.
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