Kayak launches across Scandinavia

October 09, 2008 | Online Travel

Kayak.com has expanded its brand to Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Each local site launched in beta and offers Flight Search, Fare Buzz and Fare Alerts. Hotel and car search will be added later this year, by which time the beta designation will be removed.

Kayak.com has expanded its leading travel brand to Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Each local site launched in beta and offers industry-leading Flight Search, Fare Buzz and Fare Alerts enabling Scandinavians to book their ideal getaway. Hotel and car search will be added later this year, by which time the beta designation will be removed.

Kayak.com was originally created by co-founders of Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia, who sought to create a travel site that offered comprehensive, objective search results and the choice of where to purchase � directly from an airline or hotel company or through an online travel agency.

Faisal Galaria, Kayak.com�s Managing Director of Europe and Asia commented on the launch: �Escaping the cold and making the most of vacations is a national sport in any chilly climate. That�s why it�s so important for people to know they�ve got the best deal possible, which makes sites like Kayak.com an invaluable tool. Our launch in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland gives Scandinavians a chance to enjoy their online travel planning experience through the use of Kayak.com�s innovative functionality and personalized results.�

Kayak.com�s localized sites offer Scandinavian consumers a personalized search engine with the most powerful flight search facility available. Kayak.com�s industry-leading flight search provides real-time prices and itineraries from more than 440 travel brands including British Airways, Finnair, SAS; low cost carriers such as EasyJet, Sterling, Blue1 and Norwegian; and online travel agencies such as Ebookers and Wegolo. Users can easily search one way, round trip, multi-city or weekend itineraries making it simple to find the perfect vacation to suit anyone�s needs. For those sun seeking bargain hunters, Kayak.com offers flexible search, which is the ability to search up to three days before and/or after a preferred travel date for the best fare and itinerary combinations.

In order to optimize search tools and flight search speed, Kayak.com has established partnerships with Amadeus and ITA, global leaders in technology and distribution solutions for the travel and tourism industry. These partnerships minimize the search costs for airlines and return quality results for the Kayak.com user.

Kayak.com�s industry-leading filtering and sorting tools make finding the right flight simple and easy. Once a user changes their search parameters, Kayak.com instantly updates the screen to show relevant results. Filters enable users to sort results by flight time, number of stops, preferred airline(s), trip duration, price and preferred airport(s).

Users not ready to book can track an unlimited number of trip itineraries and receive updates via email. Fare Alerts can be created and managed from the Fare Buzz tab. Simply specify departure airport, destination airport, preferred travel month or upcoming weekends, maximum price, number of stops and frequency of notification. When the fare meets or beats the desired price, Kayak.com will email the user either daily or weekly based on preference. In addition to the price found, email alerts offer a snapshot of pricing history and the dollar amount a fare has increased or decreased since the alert was created, providing consumers all the information they need to make an informed decision about when to purchase.

Kayak.com is also the first travel site to bring airfare history functionality to eager Scandinavian vacation seekers. Users can now study a snapshot of price fluctuation for an itinerary over time, enabling them to make an informed decision on when to purchase. Best Fare History looks at the 100 best prices found by other Kayak.com users searching the same route over the past 36 hours, highlighting bargains someone else might already found. Two Best Fare Trend graphs chart pricing for city/date pairs found by users over the past 90 days. One chart displays price fluctuation for the user�s specified departure date, while another chart shows the most affordable dates of travel for the specified month for the truly flexible traveler.

For wallet-conscious travelers, Kayak.com�s award-winning �Fare Buzz� displays the lowest fares to the 25 most popular destinations found by other Kayakers from the same airport or city. Looking for the perfect beach getaway in the Caribbean? Fare Buzz will display the 25 best fares from your chosen airport to destinations in the Caribbean on a Google Map. Get the Buzz for other regions including World, US, Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and Australia/Oceania.