BENGALURU: Google has finally launched its
flight search tool in India, a move that has been feared by online travel
aggregators for some time. The tool allows users to find and compare airfares
online and book tickets directly on an airline portal or through a partner
aggregator. The new feature from the search giant cuts out online travel
aggregators, who provide flight information and take a cut on the tickets they
sell. Google's presence in the space could reduce traffic to their portals.
Goibibo, meanwhile, has partnered with Google
Flight Search to display results from its own portal along with options thrown
in by Google search from airline websites, when a user keys in requirements
such as destination and travel date. Experts say Google Flight Search will impact
online travel agents' marketing expenses, a majority of which is spent on
online marketing.
"This move by Google will start an online
bidding war among the online travel aggregators," said Aloke Bajpai,
cofounder and chief executive of ixigo. com, a travel metasearch engine. Ixigo
offers a similar tool that aggregates flight information and directs users to
airline websites for bookings. Google's venture into flight search dates back
to 2010, when it acquired Massachusetts-based flight information software
company ITA software for $700 million. Flight search was initially launched in the
US and then in parts of Europe.
In India, Google has been testing the waters
for some time now. Previously online travel agents had planned to lodge a
complaint with the Competition Commission of India against the tool. Subramanya
Sharma, chief marketing officer of online travel agency Cleartrip, however,
didn't seem to be worried about the potential impact of Google's tool on his
business. "From what we know of the Indian market, this will have limited
success as difference between ticket prices on an airline's website and an OTA
is marginal," Sharma said. Moreover, airline websites are not optimised
for mobile and that could lead to a "degradation of experience" for
people using Google flight search to book directly on airline website, he
added.
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