QPX said to offer fast, inexpensive airfare-searching technology

ITA Software is expanding its QPX airline fare-searching technology into worldwide markets, introducing what it calls the “world’s first modern system for airfare pricing, airfare shopping and seat availability management in over 30 years.” Company CEO Jeremy Wertheimer told TravelMole: “Since air travel is so complex, people throw up their hands when they try to find out what it costs. What we’ve done is find ways to systemize it and present it.” ITA Software has previously been tested by several leading companies, including Orbitz, America West Airlines, Air Canada, Continental Airlines, Galileo International and others. The system has previously been available only in the US. Mr Wertheimer said the QPX system provides superior results at a fraction of the costs of huge mainframe systems. He said it accomplishes the objective of providing more bookings with a low upfront investment. The system has particular applications for international air travel, which is even more complicated and offers more choices than domestic routes, according to Mr Wertheimer. He said it took years of painstaking research and testing before the company was ready to release the program. Mr. Wertheimer does not expect any competitors in the near future. “It seems unlikely, or it would be very hard, for anyone to go through the research of writing millions of computer codes as we did to devise an alternative,” he said.