Orbitz Case Study

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-Do you agree with the ITSA'S position or that of Orbitz former CEO Jeff Katz about the effect Orbitz is having on competition and consumer choice? Defend your answer. In this case, the "Big Two"(Travelocity and Expedia) and the ITSA insisted that the Orbitz, which they believe was an organized effort by the airlines, was aiming at wiping out competitive travel-booking sites, and it was having negative effect on competition and consumer choice within the market. However, though I do agree that Orbitz could provide the potential for unfair competition, I don't think the Orbitz did have any negative effect on competition and consumer choice within the market. First of all, there was no unfair advantage that harming the competition within the market. I agree that Obritz could provide the potential for unfair competition as it could be able to give those five major airlines some unfair advantages, such as keeping their fights always shown first in the list. However, none of them did happen. On the other hand, it should be obvious that Orbitz weren't be able to take any unfair cost competitive advantages from the airfares, as long as the air lines still can offer the same low fares elsewhere on the internet. However, as a result of that the online travel market place was already dominated by the "Big Two", they have their own product/service differential competitive advantage. Famous brand names, good images, the strong/mature dealer networks, all of these were making them competitive in the market. In addition, it should be evident that prices of the products are determine by the market(demand and supply). Even prior to Orbitz, the independent distributors(such as the "Big two") could only be consider as one of the factor/element within the market, instead of the major contributor for the best available fares. Clearly, there was no unfairness to Orbitz's

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