The recent uptick in travel during the holiday season has fanned the flames of competition among airfare aggregators.
Hotwire announced today it is launching its first-ever direct partnership with a domestic airline. Starting today, customers looking to buy tickets will be able to book the most affordable international fares directly from Hotwire’s website and mobile app. The partnership with U.S. airline JetBlue Airways Co. is available to U.S. residents throughout North America.
JetBlue’s partnership with Hotwire allows flight itineraries to be comparison shopped across the two sites in advance of air travel. The carrier’s international flights include direct connections to dozens of popular destinations, including London, Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, Dubai, and Hong Kong.
While Hotwire was initially known for its deep discounts on airline tickets in its early days, consumers have increasingly gravitated to airfare aggregators that can bundle fares from several major airlines into one purchase, such as Kayak. The newest partnership, however, is supposed to show consumers that Hotwire isn’t just a one-trick pony — the website, which launched its first airfare-aggregation website in 1995, is now expanding to include budget airlines as well.
“For travel geeks who want to know about new deals, we’re good at showing value all the time. A full 95 percent of the time, our airfare search results work exactly like they do on JetBlue.com or on the airlines’ websites,” Martin Simpson, CEO of Hotwire, said in a statement. “For people who want to travel that might not be working for a low price — like whether they’ll make it to a family wedding in time, or whether they need to cram several family members into a single seating area — we can help with alternative fares that work for everyone.”
Hotwire users are able to search airfare for different routes, fares, and airports. They can also add a bundled ticket option that includes seat selection and final costs.