Andre Yoskowitz
1 Jul 2010 19:16
Google has said today that it will purchase travel comparison firm ITA Software for $700 million, but did admit that there is a chance that regulators will not let the deal pass.
The search giant outbid Kayak, an ITA rival, for the company.
ITA is widely used by airlines, travel agents and sites such as Expedia in an effort to bring the easiest comparison of flight times, prices, and availability.
Google says the deal will benefit consumers as it gives them a "new, easier way to find better flight information online, which should encourage more users to make their flight purchases online."
Reveals CEO Eric Schmidt: "Airline tickets online is a very large business, and of course a global business but I don’t know about you all, but when I do it, I find it sort of frustrating. The prices are changing constantly. The availability is changing all the time. There’s so many thousands of options, even for a simple itinerary. Users are going between multiple websites and ultimately not a very good user experience, although people trying make this better. So when we looked at it, we said we still had more room for competition here and innovation."
Google plans to integrate ITA quickly into its dominant search engine.