Savvio's trip comes to an end

Just four months after its debut, Savvio said it has shut down its business, according to a notice posted on the company's Web site Thursday.

"We would like to thank our customers and members for your support and interest over the past months," the posting noted. The Alviso, Calif.-based start-up said that all ticket purchases made on its site will remain valid.

Over recent months, a slew of dot-coms across several industries including online travel and numerous e-tailing markets have either gone out of business or are struggling to stay alive.

A recent study found that December 2000 marked the seventh straight month in which dot-com job cuts increased from the previous month. The study, conducted by outplacement company Challenger Gray & Christmas, also revealed that 91 companies, or 18 percent of Internet companies, have gone out of business since it began tracking them in December of 1999.

Savvio intended to take on the online travel market by storm, primarily by doing away with so-called blind purchasing. Unlike several existing companies, Savvio, which specialized in airfare and cruise bookings, allowed travelers to choose departure times and flights without committing to a purchase.

Although a number of analysts have considered Savvio and other newcomers an improvement over popular discount sites such as Priceline.com, which still require customers to buy their tickets before they know specific departure times or the airline carrier, the overall market for online travel remains tough. Even Priceline, the granddaddy of online travel, has been hit hard in the current market conditions that have turned a cold shoulder to dot-coms.