Priceline's Agoda business partnered with Jetstar Airways, signaling heightening competition between the two global online travel agencies in Asia-Pacific.
Agoda is now offering its hotel inventory on Jetstar Airways websites in Asia and the two companies plan to begin developing vacation packages together to be sold through the Jetstar Holidays network.
Agoda's partnership with the low cost carrier occurs as Expedia's announced a joint venture with low cost carrier AirAsia, although the Expedia-AirAsia alliance is a more far-reaching relationship.
Agoda and Jetstar announced their hotel partnership in earlyJune, although they conducted a soft launch in March before the Expedia-AirAsia alliance was publicized.
Jetstar's hub in Singapore handles routes to 17 Asian destinations. However, the airline's passenger numbers are considerably lower than AirAsia's.
There has been some discussion that Expedia's joint venture with AirAsia may blunt Priceline's hotel growth in Asia-Pacific or, at the least, provide a signficant headwind.
It is too soon to know whether that would indeed be the case, but it is clear that the two online travel agencies see airline partnerships as an increasingly important part of their growing pains.