DOT Finds No Advantage For Orbitz
from the just-another-travel-site dept
Despite my aversion to using Orbitz due to their policy of bombarding people with pop-up ads everywhere they go, I do still check the site whenever I'm making travel plans, just for comparison purposes. Despite their claims to offer the lowest prices, I've always found Orbitz prices to be the same or slightly higher than other travel sites. So, I was never quite sure what all the complaints were about concerning Orbitz's alleged unfair advantage over other travel sites. Now, a new study by the Department of Transportation has found that Orbitz does not appear to have an unfair advantage, and doesn't control the market in any way. It seems like the complaints were just a way for the other online travel companies to try to prevent another competitor from entering their market space.
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And Microsoft wasn't really a monopolist
How could a cartel of the major airlines not have monopoly power?
In my experience, Orbitz has had cheaper fares, and I've used them in spite of my natural reluctance to do so (I use MS Windows as well).
But I can believe that isn't always true -- I can imagine Orbitz not using the full weight of its monopoly power while under the supposed scrutiny of the Bush DOJ.
But it seems ludicrous to conclude that they don't have any monopoly power, and that they are on an even footing with all the other online travel agencies.
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