Expedia.co.uk

today became the first full service online travel agent to integrate charter fares with its existing complement of scheduled flights. Initially for short haul flights, partnerships with other charter flight operators are being planned over time to add even more routes, including those to long haul destinations.

Over 20 charter routes have been added to Expedia.co.uk`s flight offering already along with hotel offerings in all the new destinations. The flights will depart from 11 regional UK airports to popular Mediterranean holiday destinations such as the Algarve, Costa del Sol, Ibiza and Tenerife. All flights are searchable by price, flight length, and departure or arrival time, all are presented showing real time availability and all are bookable online.

Easier, Brighter Searches
For customers looking to find the best deal on scheduled flights, it`s now even easier to search for the lowest price.  After the initial flight search a new light-bulb will appear on the results page, highlighting cheaper alternatives for those travellers flexible about their travel dates. This feature also applies to the new charter flight service.

This new offering from Expedia is another step in becoming one of the fastest growing ATOL licensees (currently 200,000 - end Sept 2003) to offer both stand alone charter flights and package holidays.

Dermot Halpin

, Managing Director of Expedia.co.uk, commented: “This entry into the charter flight market is another milestone in the development of online travel and Expedia. We look forward to expanding our charter flight offering overtime as new charter partners come on board. The internet is the perfect medium for the sale of travel and more parts of the travel industry are beginning to realise this.”

Related stories on ITN:

(01/07/2003) Expedia, Travelocity and Sheraton Deliver Best Online Customer Experience

(29/11/2002) Expedia.co.uk Extends Merchant Business to Cars

(26/03/2002) Expedia.co.uk Releases New Booking Engine

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