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MSN Travel

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MSN Travel
Type of site
Travel services
OwnerMicrosoft
URLwww.msn.com/en-us/travel
LaunchedSeptember 15, 2010 (2010-09-15)

MSN Travel (previously Bing Travel, Live Search Farecast, and Farecast.com) is an airfare prediction website in the computer reservations system industry. It premiered to the public as Farecast on May 15, 2007. Until 2014, it offered predictions regarding the best time to purchase airline tickets.[1][2]

History

Farecast was founded in 2003; Farecast's team of data miners used airfare observations to build algorithms to predict future airfare price movements.[3] In April 2008, Farecast was acquired by Microsoft for $115 million.[4] Microsoft officially integrated it as part of its Live Search group of tools in May 2008. On June 3, 2009, Microsoft officially rebranded Live Search Farecast as Bing Travel as part of its efforts to create a new search identity.[5]

In January 2014, the airfare prediction feature was removed.[6][7]

In May 2015, Microsoft rebranded Bing Travel to MSN Travel and redirected the Bing URL to MSN Travel.[8]

In August 2015, MSN Travel flight search pages changed from being powered by KAYAK to competitor Skyscanner.[9][10]

Controversy

In 2009, there were allegations that Bing Travel had copied its layouts from Kayak.com. Microsoft denied the allegations.[11]

References

  1. ^ Mohl, Bruce (June 4, 2006). "While other sites list airfares, newcomer forecasts where they're headed". The Boston Globe.
  2. ^ "Bing Travel's airfare price predictor is gone, but not forgotten". Engadget. April 9, 2014.
  3. ^ O'Neil, Sean (April 8, 2014). "Remember Farecast? Bye-bye, Bing Price Predictor". Phocuswire.
  4. ^ "Microsoft buys travel search site". The Register. April 18, 2008.
  5. ^ Johnson, Nathania (June 1, 2009). "Bing's Best Features are the Ones You Didn't Know Existed on Live Search". Search Engine Watch.
  6. ^ COOK, JOHN (April 8, 2014). "Farewell, Farecast: Microsoft kills airfare price predictor, to the dismay of its creator". GeekWire.
  7. ^ Schaal, Dennis (April 14, 2014). "How Microsoft Squandered a Chance to Be a Force in Travel". Skift.
  8. ^ O'Neill, Sean (January 20, 2015). "Microsoft all but closes Bing Travel, expands MSN Travel". Phocuswire.
  9. ^ May, Kevin (August 4, 2015). "Skyscanner bags global flight deal for MSN consumer platform". Phocuswire.
  10. ^ "Skyscanner powers MSN travel worldwide". Skyscanner. August 4, 2015.
  11. ^ SINGEL, RYAN (June 24, 2009). "Kayak to Bing: Stop Copying Us!". Wired.
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