Orbitz travel site delays launch, sets partners

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Orbitz, a travel Web site founded by major U.S. airlines, on Friday said it was postponing its launch to the public from this fall to next summer for more testing of its reliability.

Chicago-based Orbitz also announced new partnerships with car rental firms, a vacation and cruise package company, and several providers of additional content for its site.

Orbitz said it would conduct a test involving at least 100,000 registered customers, who would provide feedback on the site before it went to the public. The test would ensure that Orbitz could handle the transaction volume and be reliable, chief executive Jeffrey Katz said in a statement.

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Compare booking engines to see which has the lowest fares: Orbitz.com (test version) Travelocity.com Expedia.com

Consumers registered to participate in the test would be able to book flights beginning in February next year. In April the test would be expanded to include the purchase of car, hotel, cruise and vacation packages.

In June the company would launch its consumer marketing campaign and officially launch the site.

Orbitz said it has gone into partnership with car rental firms Advantage Rent-A-Car and Hertz Corp., and with National Leisure Group, a provider of vacation and cruise packages.

Orbitz also has partnered with Accuweather for weather information, travel book firm Lonely Planet, mapping and directions company MapQuest, a unit of America Online Inc., currency conversion information firm OANDA, and Zagat Survey, a dining and lodging reviewing company.

Orbitz said it would offer a comprehensive and unbiased view of travel fares, schedules and rates. It would include fare information from 30 participating airlines.

Orbitz's founding airlines are AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, Continental Airlines Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., Northwest Airlines Corp. and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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