The recession hasn't been kind to the travel industry. Global air travel is down 7.6% (the swine flu epidemic hasn't helped), and hotels in the U.S. and Europe are running well less thanrnthree-quarters full. Yet Priceline.com, best known as the name-your-own-price booking company with the goofy William Shatner ads, is defying the trend.rnEarnings at the Norwalk, Conn, online travel merchant are growing much faster thanrnat larger rival Expedia, and Priceline's quick moves have pushed competitors on the defensive, as when they eliminated booking fees on airline tickets earlier this year. Priceline got rid of them in 2007.
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