Orbitz

Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. is a U.S. company that operates a web site used to research, plan and book travel. It is headquartered in the Citigroup Center, Chicago, Illinois. In February 2015 Expedia announced plans to purchase Orbitz for $1.3 billion. This acquisition was closed in September 2015.

Background

Originally established through a partnership of major airlines, and subsequently owned by various entities, Orbitz.com – the flagship brand of Orbitz Worldwide – has been in operation since 2001. Other Orbitz Worldwide online travel companies include: CheapTickets, and the Away Network in the Americas; ebookers in Europe; and HotelClub and RatestoGo, based in Sydney. Orbitz Worldwide also owns and operates Orbitz for Business, a corporate travel company. Orbitz was the airline industry's response to the rise of online travel agencies such as Expedia and Travelocity, as well as a solution to lower airline distribution costs. Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, and United Airlines, subsequently joined by American Airlines, invested a combined $145 million to start the project in November 1999. It was code-named T2 — some claimed, meaning "Travelocity Terminator" – but adopted the brand name Orbitz when it commenced corporate operations as DUNC, LLC (the initials of its first four founding airlines) in February 2000. The company began Beta testing early the next year, and Orbitz.com officially launched in June 2001.

Orbitz (soft drink)

Orbitz was the product name of a noncarbonated fruit-flavored beverage, made by the company Clearly Canadian Beverage Corporation (makers of Clearly Canadian), that had small edible balls floating in it. It was introduced 1997 and quickly disappeared due to poor sales. The drink was marketed as a "texturally enhanced alternative beverage" but some consumers compared it to a portable lava lamp.

The small balls floated due to their nearly equal density to the surrounding liquid, and remained suspended with assistance from an ingredient known as gellan gum. The gellan gum provided a support matrix—something like a microscopic spider web—and had a visual clarity approaching that of water, which increased with the addition of sugar.

The website for Orbitz existed for a while, but was taken over by the Internet travel agency of the same name.

Unopened bottles of the beverage have become a collector's item, appearing on online auction websites. In July 2013, Clearly Canadian stated that it is considering producing a limited run of new products to satisfy "nostalgia demand", with the possibility of annual issues thereafter based on consumer reception of the initial batch.

Orbitz (disambiguation)

Orbitz may refer to: