Kayak introduced in beta its first Web site
in Europe at www.kayak.co.uk.
The U.K. site,
which is said to search some 120 travel Web sites, only searches
flights for now, but will expand to hotels and car rentals by the
summer, the company said.
Among U.S.-based
search engines and deal publishers, Kayak thus joins SideStep and Travelzoo in
operating U.K. Web sites.
Like Kayak.com in the U.S.,
its U.K. branch earns transaction fees and ad revenue when it
refers consumers to partner Web sites for research and
bookings.
Kayak.co.uk
searches British Airways, Air France, bmi, easyJet, Ryanair and Air
Berlin, among European airlines. Online agencies offering inventory
through Kayak include Travelport's ebookers and wegolo.
With Farecast and
Farecompare in the U.S. attracting attention with fare history
information, Kayak's U.K. site beginning Dec. 14 will offer a Best
Fare History, Best Fare Trend Graph and Kayak Buzz. The latter
product features "the lowest fares to the 25 most popular
destinations from any airport or city," the company
said.
And the Kayak
Forums enable consumers to request travel tips and advice, and to
share information with other users.
Kayak stated that
it plans to launch sites in France and Germany in the second
quarter of 2007.
To
contact reporter Dennis Schaal, send e-mail to [email protected].