Moving from an agency-model to a search-model

Online travel agency Travelguru has partnered with travel search engine iXiGO.com. With this deal, all airline searches and bookings on Travelguru will now be powered by iXiGO's travel search engine.

Published: 24 Nov 2008

Online travel agency Travelguru has partnered with travel search engine iXiGO.com. With this deal, all airline searches and bookings on Travelguru will now be powered by iXiGO's travel search engine.

Travelers using Travelguru's flight search functionality will be able to compare offers from airlines, and book them directly on airline sites by clicking on links on the results page.

According to the two companies, with travel agency commissions for airline bookings going down to zero, airline tickets will become more expensive when booked through travel agents, both offline and online. Airlines in India will thus favour increased direct online bookings on their own websites. In such a market environment, iXiGO's meta-search technology is enabling online travel portals such as Travelguru to move from an agency-model to a search-model, "thereby making the site an operationally efficient and airline-friendly distribution channel".

Aloke Bajpai, founder and CEO, iXiGO said, "We are truly breaking new ground by becoming the first travel search in the world to partner with an online travel agency to power its airline bookings. With this partnership, iXiGO will enable Rs. 18 crores or US$4 million worth of flight transactions every month. Travel search is clearly set to become the dominant paradigm for airline bookings in India."

"This partnership will allow Travelguru to focus on our core strengths, that is, hotel bookings and holiday packages. It will also allow us to trim down costs and offer our travelers the most feature-rich air product in India," said Ashwin Damera, founder & CEO, Travelguru.

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