SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Orbitz and Aqua Software, the technology company owned
by mega agency Navigant International, are developing a product
that will give travel agents a direct link to the Orbitz inventory of
airline fares.
Thom Nulty, president of Navigant, said launch of the product is
still a "few months away." Once launched, the product will be
installed at all Navigant agencies and sold to other agencies, as
well.
Unlike other agent tools that query Web sites for low fares, the
Aqua tool will directly access the Orbitz database. For booking, it
will bypass the front end of the Orbitz site and give agents direct access to
the booking engine.
Mark Ferguson, president of Aqua, said fares from the Orbitz
search would appear on the agent's screen instantaneously, as fast
as they appear on the GDS.
Aqua customers will be able to integrate the Orbitz direct link
with Aqua's quality-control software, enabling agencies to conduct
automated, low-fare searches of Orbitz as well as the GDS, Ferguson
said.
Most Web-fare search technology on the market today employs a
process called "screen scraping," which gathers fare information by
scanning supplier Web sites.
The search process can take anywhere from 30 seconds to two
minutes, depending on how many sites the tool is programmed to
search.
Nulty said a direct deal with Orbitz makes sense for agents
hoping to scour the Web for bargains.
"We believe that the vast majority of airline discounts are on
Orbitz," he
said.