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ITA Software
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<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>ITA's first product was an airfare search and pricing system called QPX. This system has been and is used by travel companies such as <a href="/facts/Bing_Travel/IxAzVWYJ">Bing Travel</a>, <a href="/facts/CheapTickets/9tMnE1IF">CheapTickets</a>, <a href="/facts/Kayak.com/KdxBvQbX">Kayak.com</a>, and <a href="/facts/Orbitz/7CqCcjSV">Orbitz</a>, and by <a href="/facts/Airline/CEwakbf5">airlines</a> such as <a href="/facts/Alitalia/CRxaXc93">Alitalia</a>, <a href="/facts/American_Airlines/lpwGQXER">American</a>, <a href="/facts/All_Nippon_Airways/VSUu1zUW">ANA</a>, <a href="/facts/Cape_Air/NVWqV5j3">Cape Air</a>, <a href="/facts/Delta_Air_Lines/F7YdKKEM">Delta Air Lines</a>, <a href="/facts/United_Airlines/0tCTdbNh">United Airlines</a>, <a href="/facts/US_Airways/qYtuF8Fe">US Airways</a>, and <a href="/facts/Virgin_Atlantic/nxvBS6gU">Virgin Atlantic</a>. ITA also hosts its own airfare search website based on QPX, called "Matrix", although it is not possible to buy tickets from it.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p><p>ITA was known for using programming puzzles to attract and evaluate potential employees since 2001. Some of these puzzles have appeared in ads on Boston's <a href="/facts/MBTA/wGhuXeFp">MBTA</a> subway system. ITA is also one of the highest-profile companies to base their software on <a href="/facts/Common_Lisp/mq1pRbSF">Common Lisp</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p><p>In January 2006, ITA received $100 million in <a href="/facts/Venture_capital/yeH3m7zo">venture capital</a> money from a syndicate of five investment firms led by <a href="/facts/Battery_Ventures/d4qbP2QC">Battery Ventures</a>, marking the largest investment in a software firm in New England in five years.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p><p>In September 2006, ITA announced a several-million-dollar deal with <a href="/facts/Air_Canada/fXPwaFRp">Air Canada</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> to develop a new <a href="/facts/Computer_reservations_system/lkLusxzh">computer reservations system</a> to power its reservations, inventory control, seat availability, check-in, and airport operations.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> In August 2009, Air Canada announced that the project had been suspended.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p><p>In July 2010, <a href="/facts/Google/GT9Sugza">Google</a> announced the acquisition of ITA for $700 million in cash, subject to DOJ review and approval.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> On April 8, 2011, the <a href="/facts/United_States_Department_of_Justice/2SuTuevo">US Dept. of Justice</a> and Google reached an agreement in terms to allow the purchase and dismiss a potential <a href="/facts/Antitrust_law/cq7hKYN4">antitrust lawsuit</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p><p>On March 1, 2012, <a href="/facts/Google/GT9Sugza">Google</a> and <a href="/facts/Cape_Air/NVWqV5j3">Cape Air</a> announced that Cape Air had migrated to ITA Software's <a href="/facts/Passenger_service_system/W3zFeq3q">passenger service system</a> (PSS).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> One year later, Google announced that it was discontinuing the PSS.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p><p>In 2013, <a href="/facts/Google/GT9Sugza">Google</a> started offering a simplified <a href="/facts/API/GMlN4vUr">API</a> to QPX called QPX Express; it was discontinued on April 10, 2018.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Google_Flights/GRvVoqxP">Google Flights</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_global_distribution_systems/lkLusxzh">List of global distribution systems</a> (computer reservation systems)</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://www.itasoftware.com">Official website</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Jeremy Wertheimer, Cooper Union Board of Trustees <a href="http://www.cooper.edu/about/trustees/jeremy-wertheimer" target="_blank">http://www.cooper.edu/about/trustees/jeremy-wertheimer</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Edward Hasbrouck, The Practical Nomad blog, July 12, 2010: Google buys ITA Software, Part 1: The back story <a href="http://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/001879.html" target="_blank">http://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/001879.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Nightly Business Report for Friday, April 8th, 2011". PBS. Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2017-09-01. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20201111230200/http://www.pbs.org/nbr/site/onair/latest_nbr_video_home/index.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20201111230200/http://www.pbs.org/nbr/site/onair/latest_nbr_video_home/index.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Matrix - ITA Software by Google". Retrieved October 31, 2017. <a href="http://matrix.itasoftware.com/" target="_blank">http://matrix.itasoftware.com/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Lisp and ITA Software move airline travel to a higher altitude". Franz Inc. <a href="http://www.franz.com/success/customer_apps/data_mining/itastory.lhtml" target="_blank">http://www.franz.com/success/customer_apps/data_mining/itastory.lhtml</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Howe, Peter (2006-01-23). "Software firm gets $100m in backing". The Boston Globe. <a href="http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2006/01/23/software_firm_gets_100m_in_backing/" target="_blank">http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2006/01/23/software_firm_gets_100m_in_backing/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"ITA Software signs deal with Air Canada". The Boston Globe. 2006-09-12. <a href="http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2006/09/ita_software_si.html" target="_blank">http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2006/09/ita_software_si.html</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>General Catalyst Partners :: News Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://www.generalcatalyst.com/news/view/342" target="_blank">http://www.generalcatalyst.com/news/view/342</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Air Canada suspends implementation of next-gen Polaris reservations system." ATW Daily News, Aug 12, 2009. <a href="http://atwonline.com/operations/air-canada-suspends-implementation-next-gen-polaris-reservations-system" target="_blank">http://atwonline.com/operations/air-canada-suspends-implementation-next-gen-polaris-reservations-system</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Facts about Google's acquisition of ITA Software". Google.com. Jul 1, 2010. <a href="http://www.google.com/press/ita/" target="_blank">http://www.google.com/press/ita/</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Justice Dept. allows Google to buy online travel company". The Washington Post. Apr 8, 2011. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/with-shutdown-imminent-justice-department-likely-to-approve-google-deal-today/2011/04/08/AFvkXq1C_story.html" target="_blank">https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/with-shutdown-imminent-justice-department-likely-to-approve-google-deal-today/2011/04/08/AFvkXq1C_story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"Google is now in the PNR hosting business". PapersPlease.org. Mar 1, 2012. <a href="http://papersplease.org/wp/2012/03/01/google-is-now-in-the-pnr-hosting-business/" target="_blank">http://papersplease.org/wp/2012/03/01/google-is-now-in-the-pnr-hosting-business/</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Dennis Schaal, "Google and ITA Software abandon airline reservations business", Skift May 15, 2013 <a href="https://skift.com/2013/05/15/google-and-ita-software-abandon-airline-reservations-business/" target="_blank">https://skift.com/2013/05/15/google-and-ita-software-abandon-airline-reservations-business/</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>"FAQ". <a href="https://developers.google.com/qpx-express/faq#EndOfServiceFAQs" target="_blank">https://developers.google.com/qpx-express/faq#EndOfServiceFAQs</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>