Google partners on European travel pricing site

Jan 13, 2014, 12:23pm PST

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David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Search engine giant Google and Irish airline Ryanair are working on a "top secret" travel service to alter how travelers search for, select and buy airline tickets.

Sarah Drake, Contributor, Silicon Valley Business Journal

Google is reportedly partnering with Irish budget airline Ryanair on a new service that compares travel prices in Europe.

The service will launch in March with the goal of going head-to-head with travel price websites like Skyscanner, VentureBeat reported.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based search engine giant will have access to Ryanair's most low-cost pricing, including route selections, according to Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary. The airline won't provide any funding for the service.

It's expected that Google will need to cement partnerships with other major airline providers in Europe, as well as rail services and ferries, in order to be truly effective, according to VentureBeat.

Google Inc. has been in the travel game since 2011 when it purchased airfare software company ITA Software for $700 million. Its Google Flight Search feature — launched in March 2013 — hasn't been too popular though as it lacks travel information from several of the biggest flight providers.