Leading provider of flight data, ITA Software Inc. is currently on a deal with Google, with the latter showing interest in purchasing the former for $700 million. This caused an upheaval among several popular online travel companies, Expedia Inc., Kayak.com, Sabre Holdings and Farelogix Inc., even forming a coalition to counter the deal. Google has already dominated much of the online search market.

“Google has tremendous power in the search market, and it gives Google the ability to steer users in directions that are best for Google,” Expedia’s counsel, Thomas Barnett, said in an interview. “All of that would ultimately end up harming consumers.”

Google refutes the claim saying the service will be used to provide relevant results for flight data and does not intend to sell tickets. The coalition is not convinced though, for the deal can give Google the authority to limit access to ITA’s software. Expedia runs Hotwire and TripAdvisor, Sabre runs Travelocity, while Kayak runs SideStep in addition to Kayak.com. Much of the top flight-comparison sites are run by the members of the newly formed coalition. Similarly, Microsoft Corp. also block the deal for its search engine Bing relies on ITA data for travel searches.

Not everybody opposes the deal though. Some travel sectors such as Priceline, Travelport and Orbitz has shown favor, but doesn’t change the fact that much of the travel sector is cynic, if not cautious, about the deal.

The Justice department is currently conducting a review of the deal. It’s similar to legal red tape large companies like Google and Microsoft endure during ad network purchases, which have served as another battle ground.  Google responded with a reminder of its reasons behind the acquitision:

“Our reason for making this acquisition is simple: ITA will help us provide better results for our users. When someone searches for “flights from San Francisco to London,” we’d like to provide not just “ten blue links” but exact flight times and prices as well — just as our competitors do today.”

A preemptive strike, or an effort to stay ahead? The entire travel industry is gaining on the web sector, working its way through search engines and scratching at each other’s throats along the way.  We’ve seen a number of developments in the industry, with startups making key hires, and larger travel sites tying up rounds of acquisitions.