Kayak.com uses ITA Software air fare search engine
Travel WeeklyNot so different after all? Has Kayak reached the limits of travel search comparison engines?
Dennis Schaal reports:"Kayak.com March 3 began using the ITA Software air fare search engine to supplement its reliance on supplier and third-party Web sites.
Kayak CEO Steve Hafner told TravelWeekly.com that the travel search and comparison shopping site will continue to conduct searches -- at least for now -- in the manner it has been doing. It will continue to spider some Web sites, access other fares through an XML application programmable interface, and will query Orbitz and OneTravel.com.
But he called access to ITA a big deal for Kayak because, now we can get the comprehensiveness we desire without relying on online agencies.
Orbitz is a Kayak partner and Kayak desires to keep the partnership, but Hafner said he wouldnt be surprised if the relationship ends.
He also conceded that some suppliers object to the volumes of users that Kayak was sending their way, a complaint that some suppliers had with previous generations of Web search and screen-scraping tools. Hafner said some airline sites cant handle the search volumes."
posted by Jen @ 9:29 am
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