Air ticket sales battle rages on the web

Online rivalry between airlines and travel agents is flourishing, with Air New Zealand and the House of Travel chain revamping websites in an attempt to push more business to the internet.

Air NZ said its new-look website launched last month had a record one-day turnover last month of $3 million. Airline online sales chief Chris Myers says the site generates the highest revenue of any retail e-commerce site in the country.

But the airline's online rivals are not standing still, with the House of Travel, one of New Zealand's biggest travel agency chains, also revamping its website, with 20 per cent of its business now booked online.

Air NZ, by offering holiday accommodation and rental cars online, is competing with those websites offered by the major travel agent chains.

In response to a move away from airlines paying commissions, the agencies are now selling airfares gathered from various rival carriers, charging a fee for the service.

One of the biggest sites competing with Air NZ is offered by House of Travel. Its main rival is Zuji, which is run by the Gullivers chain.

House of Travel says online sales have been increasing at a rate of 50 per cent a quarter since the site launched last year.

Myers said the airline's website revamp had had a huge impact. It had last been updated in 2002, with one basic aim: to make it as simple as possible for consumers to book short-haul tickets online.

Now the site also had to be useful for booking long-haul travel, allowing them to better investigate their options. The new-look site, created by local company AIM-Proximity, includes new features such as an interactive tour of the airline's new planes, seats and products.

Online bookings now account for half of all Air NZ's domestic and Tasman ticket sales. Selling holidays online is only new for the airline, so airfares still account for 99 per cent of business conducted via the internet.

House of Travel head Chris Paulsen said the company's New Zealand designed and built site was still the only one offering "web only" fares offered by the likes of Freedom Air, Pacific Blue and Jetstar. The site uses the agent's computer booking systems, but also "scrapes" airline sites, allowing it to offer internet-only specials.

The next phase will be online booking for travel outside of Australia and the Pacific Islands.

Online booking

* Airlines now offer their cheapest fares on their websites, as they seek to cut costs.

* Extra fees are charged for use of the call centre or office staff.

* Travel agents are being squeezed out as the airlines cut commission payments on ticket sales.

* Travel agents are responding by setting up their own websites, offering tickets from all airlines.

* House of Travel "scrapes" cheap website fares from the airlines and sells them through its own website, along with other fares through its own system.

* Zuji, managed by the Gullivers chain of travel agents, offers long-haul ticket sales online.

* Air NZ has responded, now offering holidays on its website.

* House of Travel and Air NZ have revamped their websites, to cope with increased demand.