Swissair CEO to Head Travel Web Site

Swissair has lost its chief executive to a consumer travel Web site that was formed by five big U.S. airlines. Jeffrey Katz, a 45-year-old American who has been at the Swiss flag carrier for three years, will become chairman, president and chief executive of Orbitz. Orbitz will try to compete with leading travel Web sites, such as Expedia Inc., majority-owned by Microsoft Corp., and Travelocity Inc. Sabre Holdings Corp. is the booking engine behind Travelocity and also the majority owner. Like Travelocity and Expedia, Orbitz will offer a full range of consumer travel options. Orbitz was founded by UAL Corp.’s United Airlines, AMR Corp.’s American Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc., Continental Airlines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. At least 25 other airlines have agreed to affiliate with the site, which has not yet been launched. Katz is a former executive at American Air and the former head of Sabre’s computerized reservation-systems business.