More than two years after Google acquired ITA and added travel search to its portfolio, the company is now actively working on an airfare search service, according to no-frills European airline Ryanair.
Well, it has a very basic search engine called Flights that operates somewhat like Kayak or Expedia or any of the other services out there but it now sounds like there is something more significant afoot.
Speaking to the Irish newspaper the Independent, Rynaair CEO Michael O’Leary says that it is working with Google on a new price comparison search for airline flights that will “blow everyone else out of the water,” and that the service is expected to launch in March. Ryanair is supplying its pricing information to Google to assist with the development of the service.
It should be noted that O’Leary is a PR master, not above seeking publicity by circulating stories which are not, shall we say, necessarily firmly grounded in established facts …
O’Leary has in the past suggested that Ryanair would put coin meters on toilet doors, requiring payment for use, and introduce ‘standing room’ on aircraft, allowing more passengers to be fitted in at lower cost. Each story allows him the opportunity to promote his mantra that Ryanair offers the cheapest flights on the market.
All the same, the move would be a logical one for Google, so we suspect there is some truth to this one, which may be worrying for independent search services like Skyscanner and Kayak.
Via Business Insider
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