NEW YORK— Orbitz, the travel site launched June 4 by the five major airlines, was reportedly the fastest growing website for the week ended June 10, with visitor numbers showing a 382% increase. According to Nielsen NetRatings, Orbitz sold $4.3 million in travel services during its first two days of operations, and is reportedly selling 10,000 airline tickets a day. A review of the site in The New York Times, June 17, indicated that Orbitz produced good results when lowest fares for airlines were sought; the review, however, reported that “the hotel function on Orbitz leaves much room for improvement. Consumers cannot select a price range or grade of hotel— only brands— which would be fine if the results were displayed in order of cost. Instead, they fall seemingly [randomly], without the kind of graphics that make the airline and car searches painless.” The review also noted that the site “sometimes displays hotels that are not available on the nights selected.” Marriott International, Hyatt International Corp., and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts are “charter” members of Orbitz, meaning they have agreed to list their best publicly available prices on the site in exchange for a lower cost of selling through the site. Orbitz is owned by American, Continental, Delta, Northwest and United airlines. SOURCES: BridgeNews, The New York Times
