Would you rather be at the ballpark than yet another Zoom meeting? Our gallery of baseball stadium virtual backgrounds may deliver some small consolation. Attend your next video conference from any of the 30 Major League Baseball stadiums.
A recommendation by an airline trade group for ticket agents to track passenger itineraries, and plans by travel Web sites to sell the data to third parties, could deter Netizens from doing business with online travel services, experts said."Once we start seeing headlines about a catastrophe ensuing because someone's travel plans have fallen into the wrong hands, there will be a backlash," predicted Jason Catlett, CEO of the privacy-rights consulting and anti-junk-mail firm Junkbusters Corp.
Charter firm buys a Gulfstream jet for $22.9 million -- sight unseen -- on the strength of a Web tour.
Northwest Airlines is no longer providing discounted tickets, called "Net fares," to Priceline.com, a move that analysts say was likely prompted when Priceline began expanding beyond its "name your price" business model. "At the moment we have discontinued providing Priceline Net fares," Northwest spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch told CNET News.com on Thursday evening. Ebenhoch declined to say when Northwest, one of the nation's biggest 10 airlines, first cut off Priceline, or whether the decision is permanent. As for the reasons for the move, Ebenhoch said: "We have become increasingly concerned about changes in the Priceline business model." Brian Ek, a spokesman for Priceline confirmed that the company no longer offers Northwest's Net fares but said that compared with Priceline's total sales, Northwest tickets made up a "very, very small number." Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst for Forrester Research, said that one airline pulling out is not likely to significantly impact Priceline. Should other airlines follow Northwest's lead, however, Priceline could suffer a severe blow, Harteveldt said. Ek denied that possibility. "We enjoy a great relationship with the airlines," Ek said. --Greg Sandoval, Special to ZDNet News
While Orbitz has helped competition in the travel marketplace, the company could "harm" competition in the airline industry, according to a federal review Thursday. "To date, Orbitz has had some pro-competitive effects in the marketplace and has brought some benefits to consumers," read a report issued by the Department of Transportation. "Orbitz could, however, evolve in ways that could harm airline competition, and the potential for concern still exists." The report does not come to any definitive conclusions or recommend any action on Orbitz, a Chicago-based company formed by five major airlines. The review into whether Orbitz violated antitrust laws was given to the department's inspector general this week. The inspector general now has three months to issue recommendations to Congress. DOT spokesman Bill Mosely said department officials are waiting for the Department of Justice to conclude a separate probe on antitrust issues regarding Orbitz before it issues any recommendations. "They wanted to wait to avoid any contradictions between the two reviews," Mosely said. Orbitz Chief Executive Jeff Katz said he was "pleased" with the announcement. "After once again fully reviewing Orbitz's business practices, the Department of Transportation has again found no evidence of any anti-competitive effect and, in fact, has found that Orbitz has benefited consumers and promoted competition in the travel marketplace," Katz said. --Greg Sandoval, Special to ZDNet News
Biztravel.com offers refunds for late or canceled flights. Too good to last, say analysts, but company stands by its claim.
New York Times Digital is turning its Web pages on their ears for a new advertisement from British Airways. Using dynamic HTML (DHTML), the advertisement turns the Web pages of select international and business articles sideways to show a "Fly Flat, Fly Free" promotion for the airline. After 5 to 7 seconds, the page turns upright and fades into the article requested by the Web visitor. A banner and "skyscraper"--or long, lengthwise ad--remains on the page. The campaign, which will run for two weeks, is given a "frequency" cap so visitors will see only one such ad per session. New York Times Digital has been one of the more liberal publishers in accept or selling ads that alter the look of a page or are otherwise unavoidable. The site ran a DHTML ad from Oracle last year that featured a fighter plane that flew over text on the page. --Stefanie Olsen, Special to ZDNet News
Looking to draw frequent business travelers, Scandinavian Airlines Systems is hooking the Web up to planes on the Seattle-Copenhagen route.
Consumer watchdogs, airline executives and representatives of online travel agencies are scheduled to testify next Wednesday in Chicago before a commission charged with learning whether the airlines unfairly bar traditional travel agents from accessing their lowest ticket prices. At the heart of the review by the National Commission to Ensure Consumer Information and Choice in the Airline Industry is why most airlines offer Net fares, often their most deeply discounted tickets, only over the Internet and not through brick-and-mortar travel agencies. Airlines are in a period of heavy cost cutting and have begun efforts to reduce distribution charges. The Internet allows the airlines to sell directly to consumers, rather than having to pay middlemen to sell to the public. For decades, the airlines relied on brick-and-mortar travel agencies and the Global Distribution Services that supplied the agencies with fare and booking information. Offline travel agencies have steadily lost business to Internet agencies such as Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz. --Greg Sandoval, Special to ZDNet News
Just how low can Orbitz prices go? Rival firms say they can beat the leading travel site for cheap tickets. But the government is still investigating whether the company is monopolizing online airfares.
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