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CNN Live At Daybreak

Travel Web Sites Offer New, Better Services

Aired July 28, 2003 - 06:44   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for a little business buzz right now. Competition is heating up between online travel sites and that can only mean one thing, better deals for you and me.
Carrie Lee live in New York has more for us.

Good morning -- Carrie.

CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol, that's really the bottom line.

Today about 15 percent of travel is booked online. This is according to The Associated Press. So these Web sites are really trying hard to get consumers to come to their Web sites.

Let me give you some examples. Orbitz now allows users to book up to nine passengers at once, compared with six on other Web sites. It's also providing users with more information on the types of planes and time in between connections. Competitor Expedia is now offering whole wedding packages online. And Travelocity is doing things like promoting cheaper rates when passengers book any combination of a flight, a hotel and/or a car at the same time.

Now according to the AP, Expedia had a 36 percent market share of the $28 billion online travel business in 2002, Travelocity had 24 percent and Orbitz had 13. This industry, Carol, has such thin margins that companies really need to work hard in order to get as many customers as they can. So these are some of the things they're doing to get people to go to them versus the competition.

COSTELLO: And we, as consumers, love it.

Carrie Lee live from New York from the Nasdaq site this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired July 28, 2003 - 06:44   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for a little business buzz right now. Competition is heating up between online travel sites and that can only mean one thing, better deals for you and me.
Carrie Lee live in New York has more for us.

Good morning -- Carrie.

CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol, that's really the bottom line.

Today about 15 percent of travel is booked online. This is according to The Associated Press. So these Web sites are really trying hard to get consumers to come to their Web sites.

Let me give you some examples. Orbitz now allows users to book up to nine passengers at once, compared with six on other Web sites. It's also providing users with more information on the types of planes and time in between connections. Competitor Expedia is now offering whole wedding packages online. And Travelocity is doing things like promoting cheaper rates when passengers book any combination of a flight, a hotel and/or a car at the same time.

Now according to the AP, Expedia had a 36 percent market share of the $28 billion online travel business in 2002, Travelocity had 24 percent and Orbitz had 13. This industry, Carol, has such thin margins that companies really need to work hard in order to get as many customers as they can. So these are some of the things they're doing to get people to go to them versus the competition.

COSTELLO: And we, as consumers, love it.

Carrie Lee live from New York from the Nasdaq site this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com