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airfare

Travel companies band together against Google

Travelocity, TripAdvisor, Expedia, Sabre Holdings, and several other online travel companies have created the FairSearch.org coalition to try to block Google's acquisition of ITA Software.

In a blog post announcing its launch, FairSearch said that Google "presents a threat to competition and transparency in online travel search, and could lead to higher travel prices and less choice for consumers."

Back in July, Google announced that it intended to acquire ITA for $700 million. The search giant said at the time that ITA, which collects flight, seating, and pricing data from airlines and provides them to online … Read more

Justice Dept. sharpens focus on Google-ITA deal

Google is facing regulatory challenges from the Justice Department over its proposed purchase of online travel firm ITA Software.

The search giant must obtain government approval of its $700 million deal announced in early July to buy ITA Software, which helps travelers find cheaper airfares through relationships with major carriers, travel agencies, and travel search engines. Google wants to incorporate ITA's technology into its own search engine to make it easier for people to find tickets directly through Google.

But the Justice Department is concerned that a Google-owned ITA could give Google too much control over the online travel … Read more

Overpay for airfare, then let Yapta find refunds

Budget travelers will snap up cheap airfares the instant a price drops, even knowing they'll have to squeeze into a fetal position on cramped, red-eye flights with lengthy layovers. Hopefully, a novel new travel assistant could help you be more discriminating.

Unlike Farecast (read more), which predicts fare fluctuations to help plan before you buy, Yapta also follows the costs of flights you've already purchased so you can take advantage of an air-travel secret.

Many air carriers will refund some of the difference if, say, the $1,000 Barcelona round-trip you booked in March now costs only $350. … Read more