Orbitz

Orbitz, Inc. is an Internet travel company headquartered in Chicago. Orbitz constituted the airline industry's response to the rise of online travel agencies such as Expedia and Travelocity, as well as the continued increase in GDS fees, and trailed its major competitors by several years. Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, and United Airlines, subsequently joined by American Airlines, invested a combined $145 million to start the project in November 1999. Orbitz.com officially launched in June 2001. On September 29, 2004, Orbitz was acquired for $1.25 billion by New York-based Cendant Corporation. In June 2006, Orbitz, along with all other Cendant travel businesses, was sold to a subsidiary of the Blackstone Group, in a deal worth over $4.6 billion to form a new company called Travelport. Travelport includes Orbitz, Cheaptickets.com, ebookers, and other travel reservation website used by consumers. Travelport also owns the Galileo computer reservations system used by airlines and travel agents, Gullivers Travel Associates (GTA) wholesale travel business, Octopustravel.com, and other travel related software brands and solutions.