Priceline, Orbitz Take Off

Specifically, priceline said it expected first-quarter gross travel bookings to rise between 25% and 30% over last year, with gross margins coming in between 18% and 20%. In the second quarter, priceline said earnings would come in between 22 cents and 30 cents a share, roughly in line with the 25-cent estimate.

After rising 93 cents in regular trading, priceline shares surged $1.20 to $22.60 in after-hours action.

Elsewhere, rival Orbitz announced a fourth-quarter net loss of $14.6 million, or 40 cents a share, which includes $26.5 million in charges related to stock-option expenses in the wake of the company's December initial public offering.

Excluding all charges, on a pro forma basis, the company would have made $11.9 million, or 30 cents a share, which is up from $3.8 million, or 10 cents a share, over the year-ago period. This result appears to top the 11-cent Wall Street estimate held by three analysts.

Net revenue came in at $69.7 million, up 35% from $51.5 million last year. Gross bookings, which reflect the total value of all travel sold through the Web site, came in at $926.5 million, up 34% from last year.

Going forward, Orbitz said that first-quarter earnings would come in between break-even and 5 cents a share, which is at the low end of the 5-cent analyst estimate. For the full year, Orbitz said that earnings would come in between $1.14 and $1.36 a share, well above the 78-cent analyst estimate.

After slipping a dime during Tuesday's regular action, Orbitz added 83 cents in after-hours trading to $24.73.