Expedia Signs New Multi-Year Global Agreement with Virgin Blue and V-Australia
BELLEVUE, Wash., April 9, 2009 — Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE), the world’s leading online travel company, today announced a long term global agreement with Virgin Blue and its new international airline, V-Australia. The deal marks Expedia’s first global airline agreement in Australia, and the first global distribution agreement for either airline with an online travel company. Under the agreement, Virgin Blue and V-Australia flights will be available to customers on all Expedia®-branded sites worldwide, including Expedia.com.au in Australia and Expedia.com in the U.S., and on U.S. discount travel site Hotwire®. The flights will also be available to business travelers through travel management leader Egencia™, which launched its full-service corporate travel offering in Australia last year.
The agreement also provides marketing exposure for Virgin Blue and V Australia through Expedia® Media Solutions, the advertising sales division of Expedia, Inc. The airlines will run media campaigns on Expedia sites aimed at helping differentiate their brands for the millions of customers who shop on Expedia sites worldwide.
“We’re pleased to be a part of the international growth strategies of Virgin Blue and V-Australia,” said Cyril Ranque, vice president, Expedia Partner Services Group Asia Pacific. “Working with these airlines gives Expedia the chance to experience firsthand the innovative character of the Virgin brand, which they demonstrate in both their approach to air travel, and in how they market their flights to travelers.”
Launched in February, V-Australia offers direct flights between Sydney and Los Angeles, with plans to launch similar nonstop service to Los Angeles from Brisbane and Melbourne. Virgin Blue, its sister airline, is a leading provider of flights to 29 destinations across Australia.
“Expedia’s consumer reach and understanding of global travel demand make it a great partner to help build on Virgin Blue’s success in Australia, and extend the V-Australia brand to travelers looking for a fresh choice in long-haul air travel between Australia and the U.S.,” said Mathias Freiss, General Manager, Sales, Virgin Blue Group.
About Expedia, Inc.
Expedia, Inc. is the world’s leading online travel company. With more people booking travel online in Expedia’s global marketplace than anywhere else, the company delivers consumers value in leisure and business travel, drives demand for travel suppliers, and provides advertisers opportunities to reach in-market travel consumers. The Expedia, Inc. portfolio of brands includes: Expedia.com®, hotels.com®, Hotwire®, Egencia™ (formerly Expedia Corporate Travel), TripAdvisor®, Expedia Local Expert®, Classic Vacations® and eLong™. Expedia, Inc.’s companies operate more than 70 global points of sale in more than 55 countries. Expedia also powers travel bookings for some of the world’s leading airlines and hotels, top consumer brands, high traffic websites, and thousands of active affiliates. For more information, visit http://www.expediainc.com/ (NASDAQ: EXPE).
About Egencia
Egencia is the fifth largest travel management company in the world. As part of Expedia, Inc., (NASDAQ: EXPE), the world’s largest travel marketplace, Egencia helps business get ahead by offering the only truly integrated corporate travel service. Egencia’s industry expertise and the partnerships the company has built help drive results that matter, delivering meaningful advancements that have a real impact. By combining a powerful offline and online service, Egencia delivers a complete corporate travel offering supported by global market expertise and a best-in-class technology platform.
Expedia and Expedia.com are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Classic Vacations is either a trademark or registered trademark of Classic Vacations, LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. hotels.com is either a trademark or registered trademark of hotels.com, L.P., a subsidiary of hotels.com in the U.S. and/or other countries. Hotwire is either a trademark or registered trademark of Hotwire, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. TripAdvisor is either a trademark or registered trademark of TripAdvisor, LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners.
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