Expedia hopes to inject more choice into the travel plans of Canadians with the launch of the sale of charter flights on their website, Expedia.ca.
“What sets us apart from our competitors is we allow travelers to plan and purchase their entire trip. It’s extremely interactive,” said Stuart Macdonald, Managing Director of Expedia.ca
The new site was launched in late December, just in time for some of the last-minute holiday travelers and sun-starved Canadians seeking to plan their winter vacations. Expedia.ca is the only website which currently allows travelers to search commercial and charter flights at the same time. Even travel agents didn’t have access to such a streamlined airline search before the launch of this site. “It’s really not being done anywhere else. It’s useful for the customer, because it gives them a wide range of options,” said MacDonald.
The benefits of charter flights are that they are often cheaper than commercial flights, and are usually non-stop. Expedia.ca offers charter flights are available to over 40 destinations, including many popular warm-weather favorites. These flights originate from various cities across Canada.
Months of market research and product development helped Expedia determine that selling charter flights was the way to go. “Canadians told us they want control with their travel, they don’t have much of it now, so we’re trying to add it back.” The capability to search charter flights was developed by Expedia’s in-house technical team, working closely together with tour operators Signature and Conquest.
Expedia’s website is quite user-friendly, different tabs allow travelers to search flights, hotels, cars and packages. The search feature is fast and it provides options on how the results are displayed. The ePackage feature allows customers to build packages around different airlines, hotels and cars, even select their airplane seats on the same site. Expedia’s customer service is also top-notch, as a customers are supported by a privacy policy audited by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, and customer service agents available 24/7 through a toll-free number and email response service.
MacDonald says the response has been promising since the site’s launch, and hopes the public will be responsive to new features they are developing. One such feature, which they plan to call ePackages, allows even greater choice in selecting a vacation package, right down to the view from the hotel room. “We continue to work really hard to add new capabilities. Stay tuned, we’ve got some really cool stuff planned.”
