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Moments after Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt told senators "we get it" in regard to regulatory scrutiny, the search giant's rivals refuted the point. "Google doesn't get it," said Thomas O. Barnett, a lawyer for Expedia, which fought Google's acquisition of flight data provider ITA Software. "Google won't even admit reality." Barnett said the company is expanding its market power, growing in mobile phones and mobile search, in particular. And it's using that power to direct users to its services, rather than penalizing rivals who are direct competitors. Some of the more direct criticism came from Nextag Chief Executive Jeff...

NEW YORK – Expedia Inc. has stopped selling tickets on American Airlines flights, the latest twist in a simmering pricing dispute between American and travel websites. "Expedia has chosen to no longer offer American Airlines fares on its website," American said in an statement posted on its website. "Customers looking to compare flights or fares online should visit other travel sites such as Kayak.com or Priceline.com for the most accurate and up-to-date information." The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline has said that it would like to sell more tickets through its own website, as paying to have its flights listed on...

(CBS) DALLAS Several cities around the country have sued Web-based travel clearinghouses such as Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz, claiming they have failed to pay millions of dollars in hotel taxes. San Antonio filed a class-action lawsuit this week seeking to recover lost taxes, and Los Angeles, San Diego, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Chicago have filed similar suits. The state of Texas and two of its biggest cities, Dallas and Houston, are considering their own actions. San Antonio believes online travel agencies negotiate room discounts from hotels, and sell the rooms at a markup to consumers. The agencies, though, only pay hotel...

CHICAGO (Nov. 12) - Online travel agency Expedia.com said a glitch last week allowed some travelers to book hotel stays in Japan at stunningly low prices and that only some of these reservations would be honored. Expedia.com, run by Expedia Inc., posted incorrect prices for two Hilton International hotels in Japan. Some customers reported prices as low as $2 a night. The agency blamed the mix-up on an "isolated processing incident" at Hilton. A hotel spokeswoman described it as a "technical glitch" on Hilton's side. Expedia said Friday that Hilton would honor some of these bookings and that other customers...

Expedia, Inc. and United Nations Foundation Announce World Heritage Partnership - Agreement Focuses on Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development, and Promotion of World Heritage Sites and Communities Expedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE), one of the world's leading travel service companies, and the United Nations Foundation (UN Foundation), an innovative public charity created by Ted Turner to increase support for the United Nations, today announced a joint initiative to promote sustainable tourism and awareness of World Heritage sites and communities around the world. The partnership will benefit these places of cultural and natural interest by offering travel opportunities, consumer education, matching donations, and...

Rivals of the airline-owned ticket distributor Orbitz head to the White House on Tuesday to try to convince the Bush administration to curb the venture. Executives from Orbitz competitors such as Travelocity.com and Expedia Inc. said they will take their competition concerns about the airline joint venture into a series of meetings with high-level officials in the White House, the U.S. Transportation Department, and members of Congress. "We appeal to the Administration to intervene immediately and decisively -- before irreparable harm to consumers and competition occurs," five industry executives wrote in a letter to President Bush. The letter also was...