Google to buy flight data company for $700m

Google has agreed to pay $700m to buy flight-information provider ITA Software so that the search giant can provide users with more-comprehensive information about prices, times, and destinations of commercial airline flights. The all-cash deal is the latest attempt by Google to expand beyond its core web-search offerings. …

[Anonymous Coward]

Feature creep

Are they buying everything? I know it seems like there's only a few companies that own everything, but will it eventually just be Google left?

How long before we see the headline 'Google buys Internet, decides to drop Microsoft.com'

[Anonymous Coward]

Bing(o)!

Seems to be in response to MS's airfare search directly out of Bing.

[Anonymous Coward]

Doesn't suprise...

...Google seem to be copying Bing on a few things these days...

Who'da thunk it!

[Gareth.]

Google Copying Bing..... let's hope not!

It's about time Google started offering this kind of service... I've been wondering for ages when they'd do it. Local cinema listings is another thing I want to see Google start doing.

Back to flight searches... let's hope that Google do a much better version than Bing's useless offering.

I used Bing the other day to try and find some flights between London and the South of France. I went to the UK version of Bing, searched and navigated to the flights section - still within their UK site - and entered my details. I wasn't even surprised when Bing assumed I was interested in having all the prices shown in US dollars, despite me browsing the UK site and entering flights leaving and returning to the UK.

I did a facepalm for a few seconds then went to kayak.co.uk instead, which worked how I wanted and expected it to.

Microsoft really are useless, even at doing the simple stuff. I'm sure they simply got to where they are because there was no decent competition around at the time. If only Google had been around back then!

[Tony Barnes]

Cinema listing

Google already does this, for example:

http://www.google.co.uk/movies?hl=en&near=leeds&dq=vue+cinema+leeds&theater=vue&sa=X&ei=pMstTMT6CMPuOc-N2doB&ved=0CBUQxQMoAQ

[Flybert]

Muahahahahahaha

that entity that has the most eyes and ears for web accessible content on it's network and running through it's servers effectively owns that portion of the internet's value in ad serving

Google sees a cash cow where it has better algorithms, can increase efficiency and added value, increasing the profit line and providing a smoother easier to use system

wait 'till they want to buy a couple of the USA root routers before worrying about Beast of Redman though ...

[Anonymous Coward]

And where exactly in a Google World you are going to publish it?

Just a thought...

[Anonymous Coward]

ITA Software's matrix2 is brilliant

I hope Google doesn't degrade it. I use it all the time to find the cheapest flights. Alternatively it would be cool if Google incorporated it into their own web application portfolio

[Anonymous Coward]

Not that clever

tried it a finding me a cheap flight from Norwich International to Aberdeen (ie straight up the UK east coast)

Its selection returned strange routings including via the Channel Islands or Exeter

[Pirate Peter]

and when do they add tracking scripts

so they buy a flight data provider, usefull information to add into what it already knows about everyone in the US

could tie up user details, zip code etc all to yuor google cookie

should not be allowed to happen

peter

[Anonymous Coward]

@Pirate Peter

Exactly. Talk about Big Brother - they will know where you are all the time. They will know what you are doing pretty much all the time. And whatever you are doing and wherever you are, they will sell your privacy to the highest bidder and laugh all the way to the bank, while you are inundated with advertisements.

[Anonymous Coward]

They're just..

They're just spunking money all over the place, aren't they? Mind you, if they offered my $700m for my web site I think I would probably sell..

[Anonymous Coward]

Why would I...

...opt to fly with whoever gives Google the most money? They can't be trusted to come up with the best deal for the consumer as there's nothing in it for their bottom line.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll miss them

matrix was pretty useful. matrix2 a bit too ajax-y and us-centric for my taste, but still ok. Seeing what google did to dejavu -- and now seemingly purged just about all the original usenet indices -- I'm not confident we'll get to keep any of it.