Travelocity and Expedia were until
recently the duopoly that ruled the online travel business. Orbitz is making it a
three-way fight. Backed by American, Continental, Delta, Northwest and United
airlines, the site features a search engine that supposedly scans 2 billion flights in
seconds. Orbitz boasts the Net's biggest database of Web-only fares and claims to
offer the lowest costs--and often delivers. But shopping around still pays. Orbitz
links to Hotwire www.hotwire.com), a new kind of travel site with bargain prices
for those who can stomach the terms: you learn the airline and flight times only
after you have paid.
|
