Private equity firm Permira, and France’s Axa, have received the “go” from EU regulators in their bid to buy online travel entity Opodo. The two investors intent to merge the Spanish Opodo company with Go Voyages and eDreams will create one of the digital world’s biggest online booking agencies.
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Bing-Kayak: Travel Search or Dumb Meets Dumber?
The still raging war for online travel supremacy continues with news from Microsoft and Kayak. The pending sale of ITA to Google has spurred some fairly ridiculous allegiances and deals, not the least of which is the latest Bing “slash” Kayak pairing. Let’s face it, Microsoft has already spent two king’s ransoms trying to beat Google, and now this?
TUI Travel Gains Confidence and Russian Investment
Russian billionaire steel tycoon Alexei Mordashov has increased his stake in German tourism group TUI. Mordashov raised his stake to above 20 percent from just above 15%. The transaction was made via his S-Group holding company. In TUI’s latest corporate documents, it is clear the company intends massive expansion into the Russian Federation.
Google’s Probability of Online Travel Success
American Airlines and ITA penned a deal the other day which AA claims had nothing to do with Google’s acquisition of ITA technology. But the suggestion still remains as to what exactly Google is doing to fend off its opponents in the so called “Online Travel War.” Is Google silently orchestrating the downfall of Expedia and the others of FairSearch? Well, probably not anything so diabolical, but winning the ITA acquisition with underlying business relationships? This is not only possible, but probable.
Ski Deals 2011 – Choosing Your Booking Agent Online
With dozens of online booking solutions available who can you truly trust to offer you the best value? Expedia? Kayak? Today’s report on Bulgarian ski getaways reveals a little bit about how you should book your next trip. Seeing the forest for the trees is not as easy as you think.
Are Airlines Unringing the Online Travel Bell?
The war between online travel companies and airlines is heating up. Expedia counters American Airline’s move to dump Orbitz, as Delta begins its abandonment of smaller OTA’s. Can online travel giants win out over the service providers they actually depend on? Much depends on the customer in the end.