Mohd Suhaimi Fariz 2 Report post Posted March 29, 2011 SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Travel website Expedia Inc. (EXPE) and budget airline AirAsia Bhd. (5099.KU) Tuesday announced a joint venture to sell flight tickets, hotel bookings and holiday packages in Asia, the world's fastest growing aviation and tourism market. Under the joint venture agreement, a new company will be formed to operate Expedia branded businesses in Japan, India, Southeast Asia and other East Asian markets, as well as AirAsia's AirAsiaGo and GoRooms businesses, the two companies said in a statement released in Singapore. The venture, claimed to be the first of its kind between an online travel agent and a budget airline, will have exclusive online third-party distribution rights in the region for flights and travel packages offered by AirAsia and Expedia. That means that in most cases, passengers will be able to book tickets on the airline only through the budget carrier's website or through Expedia, the statement said. "Taken together with over 130,000 hotels worldwide, this will create a unique set of packages for Asian customers at incredibly low rates on both the AirAsiaGo and Expedia sites," the statement said. The Malaysian budget carrier is the biggest low-cost airline in Asia by fleet size while Expedia is the world's biggest online travel company by revenue. Article here Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flee 5 Report post Posted March 30, 2011 AirAsia-Expedia alliance to tap Asia travel mart Under the alliance, passengers can book AirAsia and AirAsia X flights on the Expedia website. SINGAPORE: Budget carrier AirAsia (5099) and travel website Expedia announced a tie-up yesterday to sell flights, hotel bookings and holiday packages in Asia in a bid to cash in on rising regional demand. The partnership will give Expedia exclusive third-party distribution rights for AirAsia and AirAsiaX flights and travel packages, giving the carrier a wider distribution reach. Under the alliance, passengers can book AirAsia and AirAsia X flights on the Expedia website. Previously, passengers wanting to fly on the airline could only book on the its website. AirAsia is Southeast Asia's largest budget carrier, while Expedia is the world's biggest online travel company by revenue. "There is a lot of focus on travel in Asia today and this collaboration allows our customers to connect to a great network here via AirAsia," Expedia chairman Barry Diller told a media conference in Singapore. "This is particularly exciting, given Asia's influence in the online travel marketplace." AirAsia founder and group chief executive Tony Fernandes said the venture was another step forward for the region's booming travel market, especially in the online segment. "This partnership between two global brands and leaders in the travel industry comes at a time when online travel bookings are exploding in the region," he Fernandes. AirAsia X is a long-haul affiliate of AirAsia and Richard Branson's Virgin Group. It flies to 14 destinations - London, Taipei, Tehran, Paris, Seoul, Tokyo, China (Tianjin, Hangzhou, Chengdu), Australia (Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth) and India (Mumbai, Delhi). - AFP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
