CheapTickets
Encyclopedia
CheapTickets is an online travel services company
focusing on the leisure market, offering airline tickets, hotel
and Vacation rental
s, rental cars, customized vacation packages, and cruises
. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Orbitz Worldwide, Inc.
CheapTickets was founded in 1986 in Honolulu, Hawaii
by Michael and Sandra Hartley when inter-island carrier Mid Pacific Air
gave 3,000 tickets to Hartley's employer at the time, advertising firm Regency Media, as payment for its services at the time Regency closed its Honolulu branch. The tickets were advertised via newspaper classified ads and sold out in two weeks. The company grew into an airline ticket consolidator, acquiring seats from airlines at rates low enough to allow the company to resell them at fares lower than the airline's normal published airfares.
It opened its first call center in Honolulu in 1987, and would later open call centers in Colorado Springs, Colorado
, Lakeport, California
, Los Angeles, California
, and Tampa, Florida
. It launched its web site in 1997, becoming a pioneer in Internet travel sales. The company operated brick and mortar
agency locations in Hawaii
, California
, New York
, and Washington which were closed by the end of 2001, by which time they accounted for 2 percent of the company's business.
The company was acquired in 2000 by Cendant
. In July 2006 it was included with the sale of Travelport
to the Blackstone Group
, part of their Travel Distribution Services Division that later became Orbitz Worldwide, Inc.
In 2009, Orbitz
was sued by the state of New Jersey
for alleged violations of the state's Consumer Fraud Act relating to tickets offered for sale on CheapTickets Exchange for a Bruce Springsteen
concert prior to the first public sale date. The company successfully claimed immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
, and Milgram v. Orbitz
was dismissed.
Travel agency
A travel agency is a retail business that sells travel related products and services to customers on behalf of suppliers such as airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways, sightseeing tours and package holidays that combine several products...
focusing on the leisure market, offering airline tickets, hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
and Vacation rental
Vacation rental
Vacation rental is the renting out of a furnished apartment or house on a temporary basis to tourists as an alternative to a hotel. The term vacation rental is mainly used in the US. In Europe the term villa rental or villa holiday is preferred for rentals of detached houses in warm climates...
s, rental cars, customized vacation packages, and cruises
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Orbitz Worldwide, Inc.
Orbitz
Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. is an Internet travel company headquartered in the Citigroup Center in Near West Side, Chicago, Illinois. Through its primary web site Orbitz.com, Orbitz Worldwide enables travelers to research, plan and book a broad range of travel products, facilitating 1.5 million flight...
CheapTickets was founded in 1986 in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
by Michael and Sandra Hartley when inter-island carrier Mid Pacific Air
Mid Pacific Air
Mid Pacific Air was founded in 1981 as a low-cost regional airline serving Hawaii. Routes connected the islands of Kauai, O'ahu, Maui and Hawaii . Its primary competitors were the existing regional carriers, Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines...
gave 3,000 tickets to Hartley's employer at the time, advertising firm Regency Media, as payment for its services at the time Regency closed its Honolulu branch. The tickets were advertised via newspaper classified ads and sold out in two weeks. The company grew into an airline ticket consolidator, acquiring seats from airlines at rates low enough to allow the company to resell them at fares lower than the airline's normal published airfares.
It opened its first call center in Honolulu in 1987, and would later open call centers in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
, Lakeport, California
Lakeport, California
Lakeport is an incorporated city and county seat of Lake County, California. Lakeport is located on the west shore of Clear Lake, at an elevation of 1355 feet...
, Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, and Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
. It launched its web site in 1997, becoming a pioneer in Internet travel sales. The company operated brick and mortar
Brick and mortar
Brick and mortar in its most simplest usage is used to describe the physical presence of a building or other structure...
agency locations in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and Washington which were closed by the end of 2001, by which time they accounted for 2 percent of the company's business.
The company was acquired in 2000 by Cendant
Cendant
Cendant Corporation was a New York-based provider of business and consumer services, primarily within the real estate and travel industries. In 2005 and 2006, Cendant broke up and spun off or sold its constituent businesses...
. In July 2006 it was included with the sale of Travelport
Travelport
Travelport is a broad-based business services company and a leading provider of critical transaction processing solutions to companies operating in the global travel industry...
to the Blackstone Group
Blackstone Group
The Blackstone Group L.P. is an American-based alternative asset management and financial services company that specializes in private equity, real estate, and credit and marketable alternative investment strategies, as well as financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions ,...
, part of their Travel Distribution Services Division that later became Orbitz Worldwide, Inc.
In 2009, Orbitz
Orbitz
Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. is an Internet travel company headquartered in the Citigroup Center in Near West Side, Chicago, Illinois. Through its primary web site Orbitz.com, Orbitz Worldwide enables travelers to research, plan and book a broad range of travel products, facilitating 1.5 million flight...
was sued by the state of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
for alleged violations of the state's Consumer Fraud Act relating to tickets offered for sale on CheapTickets Exchange for a Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
concert prior to the first public sale date. The company successfully claimed immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 is a landmark piece of Internet legislation in the United States, codified at...
, and Milgram v. Orbitz
Milgram v. Orbitz
In Milgram v. Orbitz Worldwide, LLC, the New Jersey Superior Court held that online ticket resellers qualified for immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act , and that such immunity preempted a state law consumer fraud statute...
was dismissed.