Have you started using TripIt yet to organize your travel plans into one little online spot? Kayak hopes you haven't because they just went and started doing the same thing as TripIt with the new "Kayak Trips" feature.

No matter which you prefer, both will instruct you to forward your confirmation emails to them, and they will organize the information into an easy-to-reference itinerary page. This goes for car rentals, flights, hotel reservations and (on TripIt), attraction tickets. The only major difference right now is that TripIt already has an iPhone app that allows you to manage your itinerary via mobile, whereas Kayak's iPhone integration of Trips is still in the works. But then Kayak's been too busy dropping millions to get you to pay attention to them in the first place, so we suppose they're hoping to attract all those who both haven't heard of them nor TripIt.

Related Stories:
· Kayak Launches Free Itinerary Management Tool: Kayak Trips [Kayak News]
· Kayak Launches Massive Old-Fashioned Ad Blitz [Jaunted]
· Kayak coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Kayak]]]> JetSetCD 2009-11-16T12:14:28-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/2/43917/1747

You'd think the recession would have catapulted price comparison engine Kayak.com into universal traveler awareness. The company's internal figures, though, tell a different story. Less than 1/3 of the more than 100 million Americans who use travel booking sites know about Kayak. Even less are able to differentiate Kayak from similar-on-first-look but significantly different competitors like Expedia. In a move that's bound to raise eyebrows in the travel industry and among travel advertisers, the company is shifting their resources into a massive offline ad campaign.

The new ad blitz was launched over the weekend and is set to blanket primetime cable through 2010. CNN, ESPN, and MSNBC have all been selected as venues, presumably on numbers promising that most coveted of travel industry demographics: 25-44 year olds with disposable income. Forbes.com has a full writeup on the campaign, including a description of one of the "witty 30 second spots":]]> Omri 2009-11-02T13:54:20-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/6/25/13011/9357

Microsoft's new Bing search engine hasn't even been available to the public for a month yet and already it's under fire for potentially copying the site's design from good old Kayak. We have to admit that we thought it looked a little too familiar, and the people at Wired recently tore it apart and aired claims on both sides:

There’s no question Bing feels like Kayak. When Microsoft showed us the search engine under embargo, this reporter’s first comment upon seeing the travel page demo’d was 'This looks like Kayak.'

Kayak noticed too. 'We have contacted them through official channels about concerns about the similarities between Bing and Kayak,' Kayak’s CMO told Wired.com 'From the look and feel of their travel product, they seem to agree with our approach to the market.'

That’s careful language for 'Microsoft copied our stuff wholesale.'

]]> JetSetCD 2009-06-25T14:52:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/6/19/73415/4637

We don't know about you, but we've been craving to tackle some whitewater lately and a canoe is as good as anything. In only a couple of weeks, the Whitewater Open Canoe Downriver Championships takes place, and although we're pretty good with paddles, we not quite ready for this level. Nonetheless, things get underway on July 1 and finish up on July 5 in West Forks, Maine on the Lower Dead River. With a name like that, we’ll just be spectators for this one, thank you very much.

For those that prefer a kayak for their water adventures, the Kayak Downriver National Championships will also be heading downriver soon. All races are set along an almost 13-mile course where paddlers will run into about 30 different sets of class II and III rapids. If speed is more your thing, there will be sprint races on July 3. Here, competitors will be trying their best to get through a 1.2-mile course as quickly as possible.

From the details on the races, it sounds like anyone is welcome to register to compete (so long as you can swim), as registration only has to take place one day in advance. However, we’re thinking that this isn’t for those used to a casual paddle around a calm bay or through some wetlands. Officials estimate that the sprint races can be done in only seven minutes, depending on the water level.

Related Stories:
·2009 ACA WWOCD National Championships [Official Site]
·Canoe, Kayak Championships in West Forks, Maine, July 1-5 [MaineBusiness.com]
·Active Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of a different race: penguinchris] ]]> kjb 2009-06-19T10:07:13-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/3/16/175120/123

With so much travel news raining down on us, we don't always have time to give every story its own forecast. Here's more of the day's news, in brief.

· Where's Your Lucky Leprechaun When You Need Him?: Just days before St. Paddy's Day, feds targeted an Aer Lingus flight arriving in DC and shook down passengers to find prohibited meat and SHAMROCK SEEDS. Yes, it is illegal to bring shamrock seeds over from Ireland. But those FBI t-shirts (Full Blooded Irish) are totally fine. [MSNBC]

· Move Over, Playboy Bunny: A new TV show premieres on the Travel Channel tonight--"Dhani Tackles the Globe." Tune in at 9pm to watch NFL lineback Dhani Jones explore the world through sports. [Travel Channel]

· Kayak Gets an iPhone App: While we haven't been quite thrilled with the iPhone travel apps put forth so far, Kayak has gotten in on the game with its airfare application. [CNET]

· Someone Else Flew Air Asia X Too: Maxton Walker of the UK's Guardian offers up his take on the flight from London to Kuala Lumpur which our own Julia Buckley also experienced here. [Guardian]

[Photo: Xanovsky]]]> juliana 2009-03-16T17:51:20-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/3/9/6487/04480

Not to be outdone by TripAdvisor’s latest offering, Kayak has a little something up its sleeve. After hearing about what the competition has to offer, the travel meta-search king sent out a press release to illustrate what still makes it number one.

CEO Steve Hafner lets us known that he’s flattered that TripAdvisor has mimicked his site’s design, but tells us that Kayak’s caliber of results still sets it apart. Uh-oh, the travel bookings/review site feud is on!

Now, Kayak is creeping in on TripAdvisor's turf by launching their own hotel review website. TravelPost is going to, or at least hope to, take travel reviews to the next level. It promises to search over 200 travel sites to bring you the latest in reviews, information, and rates.

If we were TripAdvisor, we’d be worried. Sure, they have all the review mojo now, but they’ve kind of been resting on their laurels and Kayak is definitely up to the challenge. ]]> kjb 2009-03-09T11:25:18-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/2/133146/2252

Remember that American Airlines-Kayak feud that started earlier this summer? After AA got upset with the way the booking engine was posting its fare data, Kayak yanked the info, leading to allegations from both sides about who started the trouble.

On August 5, AA filed a lawsuit in Texas asking the court to stop Kayak from using its fare info--and for damages. Right before the holiday weekend, the booking site filed its answer--and its counterclaims.]]> pbb 2008-09-02T13:40:21-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/