Reuters: US will not propose rules of airfares on Web

The Bush administration said on Tuesday it would not pursue any plan now to regulate the advertisement and sale of airline tickets on the Internet.

The Transportation Department proposed new standards governing consumer reservation systems (CRS) that travel agents use, but opted against any measure to extend those rules to the Web. The decision on advertising fares is seen as a big victory for Web-based travel agents like Orbitz Inc. and Expedia Inc.