Kayak launches new iPhone application

March 17, 2009 | Online Travel

With the ease of a few taps on a touch screen, iPhone users will now be able to search more than 200 travel sites for rates and availability for flights and hotels from anywhere in the world.

Travelers stranded in airports across the world can breathe a little easier with the launch of the new Kayak.com iPhone application. Now with the ease of a few taps on a touch screen, iPhone users will be able to search more than 200 travel sites for rates and availability for flights and hotels from anywhere in the world. Once the user makes a decision, Kayak.com will offer a choice of where to buy—directly from the supplier or from an online travel agency—and send the user directly to that site to make a purchase. The application, now available in the iTunes App Store, is free for all users itunes.com/apps/kayak.

“If you’ve ever been stranded along with dozens of other passengers after a cancelled flight, you’ll know that the mad rush to the ticket counter and long wait to be assisted by an agent is a terribly helpless feeling,” said Bill O’Donnell, Ultra VP of Code for Kayak.com. “The iPhone application puts the power of Kayak.com in the palm of a consumer’s hand. Within seconds, stranded passengers can book another flight or a hotel if the next flight out isn’t available until the following day. Not just a tool for stranded passengers, Kayak.com’s iPhone application can also be used for the busy consumer wanting to multi-task during a boring meeting or long line at the grocery store by researching prices and availability for an upcoming trip.”

Accessing the Web’s Most Comprehensive Flight Search

Kayak.com’s application provides iPhone users the ability to search, compare and purchase airfare from hundreds of airlines. Kayak.com’s powerful filters enable users to sort results for flights by “cheap” by price, “short” by trip duration and “soon” by time of arrival. Traditional Kayak.com filters for stops, airlines and airports are available on a secondary screen. An airline dialer is built right into the application, so while others are scrambling to find numbers, the Kayak.com iPhone application user will be able to contact the airline by phone within seconds.

The Three C’s to Finding the Perfect Hotel

For stranded passengers unable to find a flight out on the day of their original departure, the Kayak.com iPhone application can also find a hotel room from the site’s extensive database of more than 200,000 hotels. Consumers can sort results by “cheap” to search by price, “close” to find a hotel near the airport or “classy” to filter by star rating.
Everyone’s a Buzz for Kayak.com

For the iPhone enthusiast and traveler always in search of a bargain, an abridged version of the popular Kayak Buzz feature was also included in the new application. Renamed “Trends” for the iPhone, this feature lets travelers see best fares to a destination as found by other Kayak.com users from their home airport. The Best Fares List displays the best prices recently found by other Kayak.com users searching the same route over the past 36 hours. Or the Airfare History Chart displays the best price of departure for every day of the month.

Kayak.com will continue to release new features for the iPhone application and make enhancements to the UI based on user feedback. Enhancements scheduled to launch by the end of the summer include rental car search and phone numbers for hotels and rental cars.

Get more info on the development process of Kayak’s new iPhone app at Kayak’s Insider blog