Popular Priceline.com iPhone App Introduces An Easy, Convenient Way To Make Airline Reservations On The Fly

NORWALK, Conn., Oct. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN) announced today that its award-winning travel app for the iPhone has been expanded to include a new, easy and convenient way to make airline reservations at the last-minute. The app now offers a full suite of services for last-minute airline ticket, hotel room and rental car bookings.  It also comes with an appropriate new name – Priceline.com: Hotels, Flights & Rental Cars.

Priceline.com's travel booking app was recently chosen by Travel & Leisure Magazine as one of its Best Apps and Websites for Travelers.  The app also was recently named the Best Mobile App by EyeforTravel and TravelMole. The popular travel app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes store http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/priceline-hotel-car-negotiator/id336381998?mt=8&uo=4.

"Convenience is a big part of our mission in serving the mobile device-equipped traveler," said John Caine, priceline.com's Chief Product Officer.  "With the addition of our new airline search-and-book feature, these travelers now have all of the essential elements of a trip itinerary – hotel rooms, rental cars and airline tickets - available on one free app."

The Priceline.com: Hotels, Flights & Rental Cars app, which has been optimized to take advantage of the iPhone 5's larger screen size, comes loaded with new features for finding and booking airline tickets, including:

• Choose from thousands of published-price domestic and international itineraries, including round-trip, one-way, non-stop routes, and itineraries with connections.  Priceline.com's new app is one of the only apps with a "non-stop preferred" flight option right there on the main search screen.  If non-stop flights are available, they will be presented at the top of the list of flight results.
• Flights can be sorted by price, departure time, arrival time or flight duration.
• A new airport locator feature lists the departure airports closest to the mobile user's current location.  The app stores and retrieves airports based on recent searches.  Airports also can be selected by entering the city, airport code or airport name.
• A simple date selection calendar lets travelers choose departure/returning dates in one comprehensive view, making it easy to visualize trip length and pick dates.
• Nearby airports and recently searched airports are always visible on the airport search screen, and can be selected with single tap.
• The app provides a list of the top 50 most popular airports to save time. Choose an airport from the list instead of searching by city to find an airport.
• The app remembers a traveler's most recently searched itinerary and airports, simplifying future searches.
• The app includes a mobile device-optimized checkout screen requiring minimal inputs. For even faster checkout, travelers can choose to have the app automatically fill in their billing information.

For hotel bookings, Priceline.com's iPhone app offers hotels throughout North America, Europe, Asia, South America the Middle East and Africa. It provides many ways to find and book a great last-minute hotel deal. Key features include:

• Tonight-Only Deals®.  When users choose a city, they'll see an exclusive inventory of specifically identified 3- and 4-star hotels that can be booked for check-in that same night at discounts of up to 35% off published prices.
• Express Deals(sm).  This family-friendly, no-bid hotel option saves up to 45% off published prices on top-quality hotel rooms.  Travelers get to see a hotel's amenities up-front (pool, gym, on-site restaurant, etc.) along with customer satisfaction scores and, in some cases, can even choose their bedding type (two queens, one king).  After the booking is made, the customer receives the name of the specific hotel.
• Over 165,000 published-price hotels to choose from.  The app spans the globe with a broad spectrum of hotels in all star categories, complete with photos, maps, reviews and customer satisfaction scores.
• Name Your Own Price® Winning Bids recommendations.  Choose a city and the app displays multiple recent winning Name Your Own Price® bids made by other priceline.com customers for hotels in different parts of the city at different star levels.  Travelers using the Name Your Own Price® option choose their city, neighborhood, star level, dates and the price they want to pay, then receive their specific hotel itinerary once their bid is accepted.
• Native navigation.  iPhone users will instantly recognize the device-specific native navigational tools (like slides, cards and wheels) that guide them through their app shopping and booking experience.

The Priceline.com app's rental cars service lets mobile equipped travelers choose from all the popular rental car companies, car types, and competitive rates.  Pickup can be same-day, and many customers are at the counter within two hours of making their booking.  The rental car service also offers Winning Bids® recommendations for booking a rental on a Name Your Own Price® basis.

About The Priceline Group
The Priceline Group (Nasdaq: PCLN) is a leader in global online hotel reservations, with over 260,000 participating hotels worldwide.  The Group is composed of four primary brands – Booking.com, priceline.com, Agoda.com and Rentalcars.com – and several ancillary brands. The Priceline Group provides online travel services in over 180 countries in Europe, North America, South America, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa.

Booking.com is the number one online hotel reservation service in the world, offering over 235,000 hotels (as of August 7, 2012), and is available in 41 languages.  More recent hotel counts are available on the Booking.com website.  Priceline.com gives leisure travelers multiple ways to save on their airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises. In addition to getting compelling published prices, travelers can take advantage of priceline.com's famous Name Your Own Price® service, which can deliver the lowest prices available, or the recently added Express Deals(sm), where travelers can take advantage of hotel discounts without bidding.  Agoda.com is an Asia-based online hotel reservation service that is available in 37 languages.  Rentalcars.com is a multinational car hire service, offering its reservation services in over 6,000 locations.  Customer support is provided in 38 languages.

SOURCE Priceline.com