Corporate Profile
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Products, Services and Technology
Orbitz Worldwide's global inventory includes access to thousands of suppliers, including air, hotel, car rental, cruise and other services and attractions. Our easy-to-use, intuitive websites incorporate technology-enabled user-friendly tools, such as the Orbitz Matrix™ display, that simplify and improve a customer's ability to book the right trip at the right price or create a dynamic package efficiently.
Some of the customer and supplier features that have contributed to Orbitz Worldwide's successes, as a leader in online travel, include:
- OrbitzTLC™: OrbitzTLC builds on the Orbitz brand heritage of
technology innovation, helping travelers stay "Step Ahead™." Customers
use and benefit from the value-added services they get along with great prices
when they book on Orbitz.com. With offerings that include OrbitzTLC Mobile
Access, Orbitz Insider Podcasts, RSS Feeds and the well known OrbitzTLC Alert
system, Orbitz.com is anticipating travelers' needs and wishes before they
ask. OrbitzTLC Alerts update customers on flight departure and arrival delays,
gate changes and cancelled flights. The alerts notify Orbitz.com customers
and can also contact a preset list of up to six friends, family and business
colleagues via phone calls, text messages to wireless devices and emails.
- Dynamic packaging: Orbitz Worldwide's dynamic packaging technology
enables users to compare multiple combinations of travel products at a glance,
facilitating the creation of customized packages of air, hotel and other products
in one transaction, at one bundled price.
- Flex Search™: Flex Search allows customers to incorporate travel
flexibility, such as alternate travel dates, times and airports, into their
searches to find lower fares. Flex Search is aimed at the millions of consumers
who have flexibility in their travel dates and want to save money by flying
when fares are lowest.
- Insurancebookers™: The ebookers brand offers customers a one-stop
shop for affordable travel insurance.
- Activities Tab: Orbitz and CheapTickets destination services offering
gives travelers the ability to purchase airport transportation, tickets to
sporting events and concerts, theme park passes, museum or sightseeing tour
tickets at the same time as their flights, hotels or vacation packages.
- Merchant Hotel Program: Under the Merchant Hotel program, Orbitz
Worldwide negotiates with hotels to make hotel rooms available at negotiated
net rates. We facilitate the booking of those hotel rooms by consumers. Typically,
transactions completed using the merchant model result in higher net revenue
for Orbitz Worldwide than bookings via the traditional retail model.
- Orbitz Insider Deals™ Desktop Application: The new desktop
application (http://deskptop.orbitz.com) searches for flight plus hotel offers
that meet a customer's criteria, with alerts sent straight to a customer's
desktop.
- Volunteer Vacations: Launched in 2007, CheapTickets volunteer vacations destination (http://volunteer.cheaptickets.com), in partnership with the United Way, enables travelers to search for travel deals and volunteer opportunities during their travels.
Orbitz, Inc. was originally formed in 1999 by a group of leading U.S. airlines to participate in the rapidly growing online travel industry. The airline investors in Orbitz consisted of American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines and United Air Lines. The Orbitz.com website officially launched in June 2001, becoming the largest e-commerce launch of record (Nielsen Net Ratings) as of that date.
Orbitz, Inc. was a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq National Market under the ticker symbol ORBZ from December 2003 through November 2004.
On November 12, 2004, Orbitz was acquired by Cendant and became part of the Cendant Travel Distribution Services Group division. In 2006, Cendant agreed to sell its travel distribution services business, then known as Travelport, to an affiliate of The Blackstone Group. Travelport is one of the world's largest and most geographically dispersed companies in the travel industry.
In August of 2006, Travelport reorganized into three divisions: Galileo, GTA and Orbitz Worldwide. A global brand portfolio, Orbitz Worldwide includes Orbitz (www.orbitz.com), CheapTickets (www.cheaptickets.com), ebookers (www.ebookers.com), HotelClub (www.hotelclub.com), RatesToGo (www.ratestogo.com), the Away Network (www.away.com) and corporate travel brand Orbitz for Business (www.orbitzforbusiness.com).
In July 2007, Orbitz Worldwide became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol OWW.
