Orbitz

Orbitz.com is an international travel fare aggregator website and travel metasearch engine. The website is owned by Orbitz Worldwide, Inc., a subsidiary of Expedia Group. It is headquartered in the Citigroup Center, Chicago, Illinois.[2]

Background

The company was incorporated in 2000 and began beta testing in February next year. Orbitz.com officially launched in June 2001.[3][1]

Antitrust concerns

Before, during, and two years after launching the site, the company faced antitrust criticism since its creators controlled 75% of U.S. air travel. The United States Department of Transportation saw no antitrust issues with the launch of the Orbitz website. The

Controversies

Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines filed a lawsuit against Orbitz for trademark infringement and false advertising in May 2001. Southwest, which had opposed the project from the outset, claimed Orbitz misrepresented its prices and used its trademarks without permission. In July, it withdrew its fares from Airline Tariff Publishing Company, the entity that distributes fare information to Orbitz and others, and dropped its case against Orbitz. Southwest went on to remove themselves from every other online outlet except their own. In June 2008, Orbitz For Business became one of the first Online Travel Agents to offer Southwest flights on the Orbitz For Business website.[17]

WebLoyalty

In July 2009, CNET revealed that Orbitz, along with other popular consumer websites Buy.com and Fandango, have been routinely giving post-transaction marketers access to their customers' credit cards. The Senate Commerce Committee investigating these companies has described their services as a "scam".[18] The scam works by charging a monthly fee (many users report a $12 charge from Reservation Rewards or Webloyalty showing up on their credit card statements) that is piggybacked with the Orbitz sale (as it stands, Orbitz Terms of Service agreement currently allows them to share customers' credit card information with third parties for their own uses).

Milgram v. Orbitz

In 2009, the state of New Jersey filed a lawsuit against the company alleging violation of their Consumer Fraud Act surrounding events with a Bruce Springsteen concert, where tickets were allegedly offered for sale on their website which did not actually exist. The court in Milgram v. Orbitz granted summary judgment for Orbitz, finding that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act preempted the state law consumer fraud claims.[19]

American Airlines

In December 2010, American Airlines temporarily ceased offering fares through Orbitz following pressure from American to convince Orbitz to use its AA Direct Connect electronic transaction system.[20] AA tried to establish that Direct Connect would have full control over the distribution of its products and reduce GDS segment fees. Furthermore, Direct Connect enables AA to sell ancillary services to its customers.[21] American was later ordered by an Illinois Court to resume offering fares and flight schedules.[22] The court order came only days after American released a video jabbing Orbitz on YouTube.[23]

Media Matters' "War on Fox"

Media Matters runs a website called DropFox.com, aiming to get advertisers to boycott Fox News. Orbitz initially referred to Media Matters' efforts as a "smear campaign".[24]

Skiplagged lawsuit

In 2014, Orbitz and United Airlines initiated a federal lawsuit against 22-year-old Skiplagged founder Aktarer Zaman.[25][26][27] The complaint alleges that Zaman "intentionally and maliciously" interfered with airline industry business relationships "by promoting prohibited forms of travel" which violate the common carrier contract with passengers.[28] The complaint is centered on airline policies against hidden city tickets. Although the hidden-city practice itself is not illegal,[29] the complaint alleged that Zaman's website is disruptive to their business. The lawsuit was dismissed.[30]

type	Subsidiary
key people	Ariane Gorin (CEO Expedia Group)
foundation	June 2001
location city	500 West Madison, Chicago, Illinois
location country	United States
industry	Travel services
revenue	$932 million (2014)
num employees	1,530 (2014)‡R1R‡
parent	Expedia Group
homepage	orbitz.com