Breaking new ground, Expedia launched a new iPhone app, TripAssist, which enables users to track itineraries booked on Travelocity, Opodo or Agoda -- any travel website, actually -- in addition to those booked in-house on Expedia.
The feature take a different approach than competitors' tacks as Travelocity for iPhone and Priceline Hotel Negotiator for iPhone, for example, don't handle views of what might be called extraterrestrial itineraries.
A previous iPhone app, Expedia Itinerary Viewer, took a more pedestrian approach as it only allowed mobile users to manage Expedia-booked itineraries.
The breaking down of the Expedia walled garden which characterized Expedia Itinerary Viewer, launched last year, has to be seen as a bow to the trend buoyed by itinerary-management providers TripIt, TripCase, Traxo, WorldMate, Kayak and numerous others.
Most of these itinerary-management offerings take an agnostic approach to where bookings are made.
Expedia obviously isn't agnostic about it, but it has opened its world view a bit.
According to iTunes, other new features of Expedia's new, free app include:
- The ability to view airline seats via Expedia/TripAdvisor's SeatGuru;
- Flight alerts via SMS and e-mail;
- The ability to shop and book on Expedia's mobile website;
- A "billboard" view with additional destination information when travelers flip their iPhone during trips:
- The ability to view alternative flights via one-button access.
Expedia says travelers can also request changes and cancellations through TripAssist without being subject to additional fees.