• Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, October 26, 2010 12:12 PM

Top online travel companies are forming a coalition to block Google's proposed $700 million purchase of flight data provider ITA Software. The reason, as The Wall Street Journal explains, is that "The deal would give [Google] too much sway over the travel sector." Dubbed FairSearch.org, the group -- including Expedia, Kayak.com, Sabre Holdings and Farelogix -- is seeking to persuade the Justice Department to block Google's latest deal.

The companies are simultaneously launching a lobbying campaign on Capitol Hill, "making the case to members of Congress that the deal would allow Google to dominate the online air-travel market by giving it control over the software that powers many of its rivals in the travel search business," as The Journal reports. For Google's part, it insists that buying ITA will help it provide more useful information to consumers when they search for flight data. Meanwhile, Microsoft also opposed the deal in separate conversations with Justice Department investigators and lawmakers, The Journal reports.

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