Roundup

Lots of stuff going on in the world of online travel. For starters, just an observation, but Kayak just passed Priceline on Alexa. Impressive.

Also in the news lately, AA pulled international, business and first class fares originating out of the U.S. from Expedia. More on the story from Travelution Blog or check out the AA press release. Expedia is an expensive distribution channel relative to selling directly at aa.com and other channels. This move tells me Expedia was not willing to get fees to a place where AA could be channel agnostic.

Did you see this story on Virgin America's troubles with the U.S. Government. Here is the first sentance from The Independant article: "Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group has accused the US government of "pure protectionism" for denying permission for the launch of its planned low-cost airline, Virgin America." Kind of flew under the radar late last month. Full story here.

PhoCusWright just released a report titled "Groups and Meetings: Market Opportunity Redefined," released today that indicates that the group travel market will grow to $175 billion in 2008. You can learn more at the PCW site.