Zuji was founded by Travelocity.com, Qantas Airways and eight other airlines, and has since been joined by a further eight airlines, including Air New Zealand.
Citing statistics from an upcoming study by Phocus Wright, Zuji expects the market for online travel for the AsiaPac region to grow from US$2.7 billion in 2002 to US$8 billion in 2004, or almost ten percent of the total travel market.
Wong Kot Kit, chief financial officer of Zuji, told a press conference Zuji expects to be profitable within three years of the -hard launch" early next year, and has the funds to cover operations until that time. Currently Zuji has only made a -soft launch", with advertising only on its own site, in an attempt to build a customer database to fine-tune its site. It aims to have 500,000 registrations by the end of the year, 200,000 from Australia.
Peter Kelly, group general manager of sales and distribution for Qantas, said it has no plans to make special fares available to Zuji, and will continue selling tickets through its own site.
-We see it as just another channel," said Kelly. -We could see it being established in Australia with or without Qantas, so when the opportunity came to be a part of it we took it."
Zuji plan to eventually offer a white label product to travel agents so they can use Zuji technology to go online, but say that service won't be available for at least six months. It is currently searching for a CEO.
Can I say that the IT market has dropped dramatically and I have heard there is no IT market, no-one will hire the people that are capable of doing the job, that's why. Big companies never give Juniors the opportunity to learn, give them a month and see their capablities, they'll probably end up earning the most in the end, is that what employers are scared of? For a traveller to get job in this country makes it so much harder for the younger community in Australia to finds jobs. The economy is fast growing, maybe not as much as 40 years ago, but it's still growing. Who would want to grow up in to todays world, no available work, and you need money to be able to get to inerviews, buy work clothes, shoes!, then you have to pay to do a course, like, IT. If you cant even get a job that you would excel in, or get a job full stop than how do you think they are going to pay for a course, what, do ther course and pay them back when your rich? I wish, majority of people wish. It's so dissapointing, to live and not be able to buy clothes, your own food, rent a house or little studeo, buy new underwear, the young these days are prepared to do the job, an given the chance can excel. The younger generation need to feel independant, or instead they will go nowhere, not because they want to but because no-one out their wants to take a minute out of their day to help someone elses future. We really do live for ourselves, if you say otherwise, your lying to yourself.