Orbitz.com released iPhone and Android apps and sister company ebookers is slated to get its own mobile website by the end of the year.
Chris Brown, vice president of product strategy at Orbitz Worldwide, says the Orbitz apps are the only apps on the market which enable the searching and booking of flights, hotels and car rentals from within the native apps.
Why is that so important?
Brown says mobile consumers may be on the go, walking or driving, when using the apps and may not have time to link outside the app to a mobile website for booking.
Unlike other travel companies, Brown says it was a conscious decision as part of the company's mobile strategy not to release an iPhone app first because this would have delayed deployment of an Android app.
In July, Orbitz quietly launched a mobile website, which Brown describes as a "hedge on our mobile strategy."
He acknowledges that Orbitz was somewhat late to the game in mobile apps, adding "we wanted to do it right and to make sure it fit with into our global strategy."
Future plans also call for Orbitz for Business to get a set of mobile solutions.
Orbitz Worldwide also is actively looking into its strategy for tablets, with the iPad obviously heading the platform list for now.
Since launching the Orbitz mobile website, the company has seen consumer behavior shifting toward same-day bookings for hotels and cars, Brown says.
Brown says Orbitz Worldwide is making a substantial investment in mobile and has partnered with other companies, but is emphasizing in-house development.
"We will have a lot of serious mobile experts here," Brown says.
In fact, Orbitz says it's doing some hiring.