Dépêches

ITA Software and FareCompare.com Deliver New Real-Time Deal Alerts

Dépèche transmise le 8 juillet 2009 par Business Wire

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ITA Software, Inc., the leader in developing innovative solutions for the travel industry, today announced details of its expanded partnership with FareCompare.com, the independent airfare comparison shopping site. FareCompare is rolling out several new products that are powered by ITA Software’s QPX system, including a real-time airfare alert service available on Twitter (related announcement available at: http://www.farecompare.com/articles/farecomparecom-delivers-3-ways-to-find-the-cheapest-airfare/).

FareCompare and ITA Software announced their initial partnership less than a year ago, and during that time have worked closely to build and deploy innovative new tools aimed at further enhancing customers’ online airfare shopping experience. Since the initial QPX deployment, FareCompare has been able to quickly check hundreds of travel date combinations with just one click -- no more hunting and pecking for those elusive cheap seats.

“ITA Software is a valuable technology innovation partner that is completely aligned with our goals to provide consumers with rapid access to the best, most accurately priced airfare available on the market at any given time,” said Rick Seaney, CEO, FareCompare. “Our goal is to make sure consumers enjoy their experience with FareCompare. With the help of ITA and the immediacy and community-building aspects of available social media tools, we hope to make airfare shopping a fun, rewarding experience.”

FareCompare relies on ITA Software’s QPX to handle airfare searches associated with its real-time alerts service. The service not only alerts customers to deals by email, but also provides travelers who follow their home airports on Twitter to get real-time notices about travel deals from those airports, for example @flyfromBOS (Boston), @flyfromDEN (Denver) and @flyfromNYC (the greater New York airports). Find all 170+ indexed Twitter feeds at http://www.farecompare.com/twitter. When customers select the link provided in the email or tweet, they open a web page and initiate a QPX search that populates a 30-day calendar; if the fare is no longer available, users can initiate another search for a comparable fare. QPX also handles searches associated with FareCompare’s Cheap Travel Deals, destination shopping and Smart Shopper tools.

“FareCompare’s new social media-focused, real-time alert products are perfect examples of the types of cutting-edge tools that consumers are clamoring for in a time when immediacy of information is paramount to building and maintaining a positive brand experience,” said Gianni Marostica, chief commercial officer, ITA Software. “With summer vacation season in high gear, we’re proud to support FareCompare’s innovative travel solutions that help increase consumer confidence in getting the best possible deals.”

About FareCompare.com

FareCompare.com is an independent airfare shopping site with the all the tools necessary to help consumers find the best deals available quickly and easily - and find them first. That’s because FareCompare is not the typical airfare “meta search” comparison shopping site.

Every day, FareCompare processes feeds from more than 500 airlines - totaling more than 270,000 destinations worldwide - making FareCompare a comprehensive one-stop airfare shopping experience. Plus, FareCompare’s proprietary software and robust processing power delivers a speedy and easy shopping experience.

About ITA Software

ITA Software (www.itasoftware.com) is a leader in developing innovative solutions for the travel industry. ITA’s QPX, the industry’s most comprehensive airfare shopping system, is used by leading airlines and online travel companies worldwide including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Bing Travel (previously Farecast), Continental Airlines, FareCompare, Hotwire, Kayak, Orbitz, TripAdvisor, United Airlines, US Airways and others. ITA is currently building a radically new passenger reservation system with partner Air Canada. In 2008, the company was ranked as an Inc. 5000 fastest growing private company. ITA was founded by computer scientists from MIT and is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass.