Opodo sets sights on UK market

The online travel market has become a highly competitive business, and now a company until now virtually unknown in the UK will try its hand at catering to British holidaymakers. Opodo has already become successful on the European continent, and its stab at the UK market will be backed up by nine major European airlines, which include Alitalia, Air France, Aer Lingus, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, KLM, Iberia, Finair and British Airways.

The site will offer, besides its site in English, sites in German, French, Spanish and Italian. Opodo is making a firm first step by saying it aims to undercut all other travel sites on flight price. This has shaken up established players like Expedia, whose managing director James Vaile says, “We welcome the competition, as long as it is a level playing field.”

Giovanni Bisignani, the owner of Opodo says that even before the launch, “For 20 top destinations, in 85% of the cases we have the best fares.” This is achieved by the airlines cutting out a large part of their middle-man costs by selling straight to the consumer over the internet.