Eurostar Launches Orbitz Worldwide Private Label Solution to Power Hotel and Package Bookings in Europe

CHICAGO, May 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW) today announced that Eurostar International, the leading provider of international high-speed passenger rail transit across inter-continental Europe, has launched the Orbitz Worldwide Distribution private label solution to power hotel, dynamic packaging, car hire and activities bookings on its website, www.eurostar.com. The Orbitz Worldwide private label solution is built on highly-flexible, fully-customizable XML-based technology that allows Eurostar to offer complementary travel products booked standalone or part of a package reservation.  

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"The Orbitz Worldwide solution is unique in its ability to combine comprehensive content from tens of thousands of hotel partners with a technology platform that gives Eurostar unmatched functionality and customization," said Matthias Mahr, head of e-Commerce and Customer Management, Eurostar.  "As demand for end-to-end, high-speed rail accelerates across Europe, this partnership allows us to offer customers one-stop shopping on Eurostar.com for the best deals on complementary travel products and services."

Headquartered in London, Eurostar is one of Europe's most visible train operators.  Since the launch of its first inter-country line in 1994, the rail company has carried nearly 120 million travelers between Britain and continental Europe.  According to the European Commission, demand for overall rail transit has steadily increased since 2003 with a growing percentage of those trips happening on high-speed routes.  Additionally, deregulation by the European Commission in 2010 has given Eurostar and other train operators greater flexibility to service more countries and destinations across the European Union.  

"We are excited that Eurostar selected the Orbitz Worldwide private label solution to power its ancillary product platform for hotel, dynamic packaging, car hire and activities," said Ronnie Gurion, president, Orbitz Worldwide Distribution.  "In addition to being a great win for Orbitz Worldwide during a highly competitive bid process, our hotel partners will immediately benefit from having their properties promoted to millions of additional travelers that book on Eurostar.com each year."

Orbitz Worldwide Distribution offers a range of private label solutions for partners of all sizes, including hosted HTML services that can be launched in a matter of days with no upfront costs, XML solutions that allow full control of the user interface, and end-to-end custom developed XML and HTML solutions that are fully tailored to meet the unique requirements of more complex partners.  For more information about Orbitz Worldwide Distribution, visit http://corp.orbitz.com/partnerships/distribution or send an email to [email protected].

About Orbitz Worldwide

Orbitz Worldwide is a leading global online travel company that uses innovative technology to enable leisure and business travelers to research, plan and book a broad range of travel products.  Orbitz Worldwide owns a portfolio of consumer brands that includes Orbitz (www.orbitz.com), CheapTickets (www.cheaptickets.com), ebookers (www.ebookers.com), HotelClub (www.hotelclub.com), RatesToGo (www.ratestogo.com) and the Away Network (www.away.com).  Also within the Orbitz Worldwide family, Orbitz Worldwide Distribution (http://corp.orbitz.com/partnerships/distribution) delivers private label travel solutions to a broad range of partners including many of the world's largest airlines, and Orbitz for Business (www.orbitzforbusiness.com) delivers managed corporate travel solutions for corporations.  For more information on partnership opportunities with Orbitz Worldwide, visit http://corp.orbitz.com.  Orbitz Worldwide uses its Investor Relations website to make information available to its investors and the public at http://investors.orbitz.com.  You can sign up to receive email alerts whenever the company posts new information to the website.

About Eurostar International

1. Eurostar is the high-speed train service linking St Pancras International, Ebbsfleet International, Ashford International, Paris, Brussels, Lille, Calais, Disneyland Resort Paris, Avignon and the French Alps.
2. Eurostar was established in 1994 as a partnership between three railway companies: SNCF, SNCB and LCR (London and Continental Railways). On 1 September 2010, Eurostar became a single, unified corporate entity owned by three shareholders: SNCF, SNCB and LCR.
3. Eurostar is a founder member of Railteam, a partnership between Europe's leading high-speed train operators that is developing simpler ways to book and travel on the fast-expanding, European high-speed rail network.
4. Eurostar and Eurotunnel are entirely separate companies. Eurostar operates high-speed passenger trains, while Eurotunnel operates vehicle shuttle services and the Channel Tunnel itself. Eurostar is Eurotunnel's biggest customer.
5. To book tickets or for more travel information, please visit www.eurostar.com or call +44 (0)1233 617 575.

SOURCE Orbitz Worldwide