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WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) - A House subcommittee will hold a hearing
next week to air competition concerns about Orbitz, the online ticket
venture owned by five major U.S. airlines, a spokesman for the panel said on
Thursday.
The hearing, before a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce
Committee, was billed as "an examination of supplier-owned online travel
sites."
It comes at a time when antitrust enforcers at the Justice Department are
scrutinizing the ticket venture and complaints that it could thwart
competition in the online travel business.
A spokesman for the committee said lawmakers have not yet worked out details
about exactly who will testify at the hearing.
However, critics of Orbitz include travel agents and online rivals such as
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) and Sabre Holdings Corp. (TSG) , the owner of the
Travelocity web site.
Last month the U.S. Department of Transportation issued an inconclusive
report on Orbitz, the third most visited travel site.
The agency cited no anti-competitive fallout from Orbitz so far, but it said
the ticket venture could potentially have a negative effect on airline
competition. The agency balked at reaching any "definitive" conclusions
because of the Justice Department's ongoing probe.
Owned by AMR Corp.'s (AMR) American Airlines, UAL Corp.'s (UAL) United
Airlines, Continental Airlines Inc. (CAL), Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) and
Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWAC), Orbitz has been accused of having an unfair
advantage by rival online services.
At the center of the complaints is a provision in Orbitz's charter that
prohibits participating airlines from giving their lowest fares to any other
online travel site without offering it to Orbitz as well.
Orbitz's critics charge that the so-called "Most Favored Nation" or "MFN"
clause gives it an unfair advantage and could be bad for consumers.
While travel agents sold $63 billion in airline tickets in 2001, Web-based
services accounted for $24 billion in ticket sales and their market share is
growing because of discounts and convenience.
©2002 Reuters Limited.
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