This may be the best time in history to look for cheap airline tickets. A slow economy and the aftereffects of 9/11 have airlines slashing fares to sell tickets. And the Internet has created real price competition. But can it last? A growing chorus argues that it can't, for one big reason: Orbitz.com
The website was created last June by the nation's five largest airlines (American, United, Delta, Northwest and Continental), and is today the third biggest player in the $20 billion-a-year online travel market. Competing websites claim Orbitz is using unfair practices to drive customers to those five...