By Expedia Guest Author, on December 10, 1999

Expedia.com Customers Can Now Find The Right Flights For Less on Expedia.com

The Addition of Flight Price Matcher Fills out the Web's Strongest Set of Flight Services

REDMOND, WA, Dec. 9, 1999 – Today, Expedia.com™ became the first single Web site to allow customers to specify their own prices for airline tickets and have access to a complete resource of airline and travel planning services. Flight Price Matcher allows customers to save money and time, and get consistent customer service without jumping from site to site.

Following on the heels of Hotel Price Matcher,™ Flight Price Matcher allows consumers to specify their own prices for flights, giving them access to fares that would not otherwise be available to them. Because of its broad set of flight shopping services, Expedia.com customers gain a significant advantage when shopping for airplane tickets using Flight Price Matcher.

“Expedia.com empowers the consumer by allowing them to go to one site to get it all,” said Richard Barton, president and CEO of Expedia, Inc. “The addition of Flight Price Matcher to our suite of booking services continues the focus Expedia.com has on providing the best set of tailor-made travel choices for our customers.”

For example, before using Flight Price Matcher, customers can check the lowest published fares and current going rates on fares with Expedia.com services such as the new Fare Calendar or Fare Compare before submitting a request. Additionally, after a consumer submits a Flight Price Matcher request, Expedia.com simultaneously searches for available published fares. If, at that time, a published fare is available below their requested amount, customers will be able to get that lower fare instead, giving them the comfort they'll get a great deal when using Flight Price Matcher. Most importantly, customers can rest assured their Flight Price Matcher requests will be matched with name-brand air carriers including American Airlines and US Airways.

Along with consumers, airlines will also gain substantially from Flight Price Matcher. This new service creates a complementary distribution channel that affords airlines the ability to reach out to a more price sensitive audience and to be able to sell seats that might otherwise have gone unsold.

“American Airlines is pleased to participate in the Expedia.com Flight Price Matcher,” said Mike Gunn, American Airline's senior vice president of marketing. “Our relationship with Expedia.com will add an important new distribution channel for price sensitive customers who are willing to be flexible.”
Using Flight Price Matcher

Customers tell Expedia.com the price they are willing to pay for a flight, along with the route, and date they want to travel. Flight Price Matcher then searches for this fare among a number of leading air carriers. Within minutes they are notified whether their request has been matched with a flight. Flight Price Matcher tickets are nonrefundable and noncancelable. With the Flight Price Matcher Promise, customers are assured that they will be matched with a name-brand airline and that the price will include standard taxes and fees so there won't be any surprises later.

Flight Planning Resources

Simply click on Flights from the Expedia.com home page to access the Flight Price Matcher, Fare Calendar, and additional flight services, including:

Fare Calendar Recently introduced, enables customers to easily identify and, more importantly, obtain airlines' lowest published fares for the dates they want with a simple click on a calendar.

Fare Compare Allows customers to compare airline prices on different carriers by seeing the low fares other Expedia.com customers have found.

Airline Fare List Lists airline published fares for both domestic and international fares.

Fare Tracker Provides customers with updates for the lowest found fares for up to three of a subscriber's specified routes, in e-mail and on the Web site.

Roundtrip Airfare Search Quickly searches available roundtrip airfares by travel dates, times and destination.

One-Way Airfare Search Quickly searches available one-way airfares.

Multiple-Leg Airfare Search Quickly searches available multiple-leg airfares.

US$25 Credit Card Reward for Customers
To launch the new service, Expedia.com is offering a special promotion giving Flight Price Matcher customers a US$25 credit card reward if their offer is matched. This offer is available from Dec. 14, 1999 until Jan. 14, 2000. (Some restrictions apply. See Expedia.com for complete offer details.)

About Expedia

Expedia, Inc (NASDAQ: EXPE) helps travelers best meet all of their travel needs with multiple booking options, extensive destination advice, and strong editorial content. This includes finding the right trip at the right price for airline tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals, vacations and cruises. Expedia.com provides excellent resources for choosing and planning trips, including such features as the World Guide with more than 400 destinations, Expedia® Maps with point-to-point driving directions, news on fare sales, travel advisories, frequent flyer mileage tracking, and more.

The most-visited online travel site for seven months in a row (Media Metrix, October 1999), Expedia.com provides customers with extensive support through services such as a credit card guarantee (U.S. version only), a privacy policy, and agents ready to handle questions or changes via email or toll-free number 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Expedia.com is also available under Travel on the MSN™ network of Internet services.

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