Hearing Will Examine Orbitz Ticket Venture

A House subcommittee is scheduled to hold a hearing this week to air competition concerns about Orbitz, the online ticket venture owned by five major U.S. airlines.

The hearing, before a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, was being billed as “an examination of supplier-owned online travel sites.”

It comes at a time when antitrust enforcers at the Justice Department are scrutinizing the ticket venture and complaints that it could thwart competition in the online travel business.

A spokesman for the committee said lawmakers have not yet worked out details about who will testify.

However, critics of Orbitz include travel agents and online rivals such as Expedia Inc. and Sabre Holdings Corp., the owner of the Travelocity Web site.

Last month the Department of Transportation issued an inconclusive report on Orbitz, the third-most-visited travel site.

The agency cited no anti-competitive fallout from Orbitz, but it said the ticket venture potentially could have a negative effect on airline competition.

The agency balked at reaching any “definitive” conclusions because of the Justice Department’s continuing probe.

Owned by AMR Corp.’s American Airlines, UAL Corp.’s United Airlines, Continental Airlines Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp., Orbitz has been accused of having an unfair advantage by rival online services.

Travel agents sold $63 billion in airline tickets in 2001. Web-based services accounted for $24 billion in ticket sales, and their market share is growing because of discounts and convenience.