Orbitz Q3 revenue fell 22%, blames removal of booking fees

November 06, 2009 |

Orbitz posted a quarterly profit on Thursday, helped by lower expenses and more bookings, and said it had received equity investments amounting to $100 million. The company said fee cuts and promotions offset weak demand during the economic recession but that travel demand is starting to recover on its own.

The results fell short of Wall Street's expectations and shares dropped more than 9 percent in early trading before rebounding into positive territory.

Orbitz Chief Executive Barney Harford said fee cuts and promotions offset weak demand during the economic recession but that travel demand is starting to recover on its own.

"With regard to the market, it's clearly very weak. We do think it is gradually improving," Harford told Reuters in an interview. "But it's really the leisure market that is driving the recovery right now."

"On the other hand, it's the business market where you're still seeing that weakness," Harford said. "While business travel is getting better each quarter, that is still a challenged sector."

Get the full story at Reuters

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