Expedia.com Expedia.com Becomes First Online Travel Agency to Enable Airline Ticket Exchanges on the Web
BELLEVUE, Wash. – Sept. 19, 2002 – Because travelers’ schedules often change, Expedia.com® has made exchanging airline tickets easier than ever with today’s launch of the Expedia® Online Exchange Wizard. The first of its kind for any online travel agency, this service enables travelers to research alternative plans, calculate price differences, and complete the change – all without picking up the phone to call customer service.
Similar to all travel agencies, exchanging airline tickets is one of the top customer requests into Expedia’s call centers. Now travelers can make changes on their own with a service that is simple to navigate and easy to understand. Customer service representatives will continue to be available 24×7 for all customer requests, including ticket exchanges, when needed.
“The Online Exchange Wizard is just another way in which Expedia makes planning travel – and in this case, changing your travel plans – as convenient as possible,” said Erik Blachford, president of Expedia, North America. “We want our customers focusing on an enjoyable trip experience and not on the process of exchanging a ticket.”
Using the Online Exchange Wizard
To exchange a ticket, customers simply click on the “Exchange this ticket” link within their booked itinerary found in the “My Trips” section of the site. Customers are then alerted to the possibility that there may be airline-imposed fees and possible fare differences, which could impact their travel decisions. They can then select the desired flight leg(s) they would like to exchange. Once this decision has been made, Expedia presents the traveler with additional flight options for the desired flight segments they are exchanging. After selecting a different flight, customers are able to view the new fare compared to the old fare, and the total cost to make an exchange. At any point in the exchange process, travelers have the option to cancel their search and return to their original itinerary. When the exchange has been completed, Expedia sends the customer a confirmation email with the new itinerary.
Expedia®’s Online Exchange Wizard is currently available only to customers with an e-ticket traveling to and from destinations within the United States.
About Expedia, Inc.
Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) is the world’s leading online travel service and was the eighth largest travel agency in the most recent United States agency rankings. To meet the needs of travelers around the globe, it operates Expedia.com in the United States and localized versions throughout Europe and Canada. Expedia.com helps travelers travel right with a wide variety of travel products and services, such as Expedia® Special Rate hotels and vacation rentals with the guaranteed lowest prices***. Expedia’s quality and leadership have been recognized in awards such as PC Magazine’s “Readers’ Choice” and “Editors’ Choice” Awards, Forbes’ “Favorite General Travel Site,” and Yahoo! Internet Life’s “Best Overall Travel Site.” Expedia is a majority-owned subsidiary of USA Interactive (NASDAQ: USAI).
Expedia.com customers are supported by a credit card guarantee (U.S. site only), an industry-leading privacy policy, and live agents via e-mail and an 800-number available 24 hours a day/seven days a week.
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* For more information on this guarantee, see www.expedia.com/daily//highlights/hotel/faqs.asp.
Expedia, Expedia.com, and the airplane logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the United States, Canada and/or other countries. Other products and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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