The unexpected announcement in the first quarter of a blockbuster deal between Air Asia and Expedia was not going to go unanswered for long.
Now its out - Jetstar for the whole franchise has partnered with Priceline's Agoda subsidiary to provide accommodation services across the airline's network in Asia.
This will significantly enhance the product and let Jetstar compete as many other airlines do as a Travel Portal rather than just an airline product service.
Expect that Jetstar will now start linking to more partners to provide additional value added services on the site.
Strangely enough this will cause a bit of a realignment. As with many JVs or partnerships - there is always a degree of reaction. Expedia may find itself pitted against a number of other entities that do not wish to do business with the Beelevue WA based Travel Mega player. This will help Priceline's position. As to who will ultimately win? At the moment, (in my view) - the Asia Pacific coverage by Agoda is better than Expedia.
Still this will be an interesting cat fight. May mean that the famous Jetstar/Air Asia partnership that was announced at the beginning of 2010 may not produce anything other than some nice plane designs.
Cheers
With thanks to the Cranky Flyer for the cute image!
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