Microsoft Opposes Google-ITA Deal

FairSearch.org, the coalition of companies claiming that Google’s proposed acquisition of Cambridge, MA-based ITA Software would give Google an unfair advantage in the travel search arena, announced today (PDF) that it has gained several new members, including Microsoft. The Redmond, WA, giant’s Bing search engine uses ITA’s QPX flight search tool to power some of its travel searches. Other new members of the coalition include UK-based Foundem, Paris-based Level.com, and Singapore-based Zuji. Existing FairSearch.org members, who are calling on the Department of Justice to disallow the ITA acquisition, include Expedia and its Hotwire and TripAdvisor subsidiaries, Farelogix, Kayak and its SideStep subsidiary, and Sabre Holdings and its Travelocity subsidiary, which Zuji.

Author: Wade Roush

Between 2007 and 2014, I was a staff editor for Xconomy in Boston and San Francisco. Since 2008 I've been writing a weekly opinion/review column called VOX: The Voice of Xperience. (From 2008 to 2013 the column was known as World Wide Wade.) I've been writing about science and technology professionally since 1994. Before joining Xconomy in 2007, I was a staff member at MIT’s Technology Review from 2001 to 2006, serving as senior editor, San Francisco bureau chief, and executive editor of TechnologyReview.com. Before that, I was the Boston bureau reporter for Science, managing editor of supercomputing publications at NASA Ames Research Center, and Web editor at e-book pioneer NuvoMedia. I have a B.A. in the history of science from Harvard College and a PhD in the history and social study of science and technology from MIT. I've published articles in Science, Technology Review, IEEE Spectrum, Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Technology and Culture, Alaska Airlines Magazine, and World Business, and I've been a guest of NPR, CNN, CNBC, NECN, WGBH and the PBS NewsHour. I'm a frequent conference participant and enjoy opportunities to moderate panel discussions and on-stage chats. My personal site: waderoush.com My social media coordinates: Twitter: @wroush Facebook: facebook.com/wade.roush LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/waderoush Google+ : google.com/+WadeRoush YouTube: youtube.com/wroush1967 Flickr: flickr.com/photos/wroush/ Pinterest: pinterest.com/waderoush/