But whether the heavy participation of the airlines in T2 will fall within antitrust laws is still up for question. The business of online travel is already in the hands of a few giants. For the past few years, Expedia, owned by Microsoft, and Travelocity have been the big fish in the online travel pond, aggressively gobbling up smaller high-quality sites. The DOJ confirmed that the investigation would go forward, but would make no further comment. Later, ASTA added to the complaint its opposition to a similar plan in the works involving European airlines, called T3.
Recent history bears that out.
In the past decade, the government has frequently battled with airlines on antitrust issues. And it is not likely to stop as the industry seems to be merger-mad. Lowest-fare tickets that ordinarily go to those agents would most likely be available only on the Internet and would then go to T2, Ruden said. Since most of the major carriers sell tickets on their own websites, Ruden sees no compelling reason for the carriers to merge on this venture. The individual airlines, he noted, could have acquired the same software for their own sites.