Filed under: North America, United States, Airlines
Could the battle between airlines and online travel agencies have gotten any more intense? This week, American Airlines got the green light in court to yank its fares from Orbitz, and Delta announced that it was pulling out of several smaller sites - CheapOair, OneTravel and BookIt. Travel industry experts are saying it's about time, but that doesn't lessen the shock to the business, especially with the rapid succession. Well, if you didn't think it couldn't get any crazier, brace yourself: the online travel agency community is fighting back.
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Expedia is changing the way it shows American Airlines flights on its site, making it "extremely difficult" for users to find them, according to ABC News. Is it a show of solidarity, as Scott Mayerowitz of ABC puts it, or could it be an early form of risk management? By reducing its reliance on the American Airlines relationship, Expedia can mitigate the impact of an American withdrawal from its own site.
And let's not underestimate the financial damage involved: the move by American with Orbitz could cause a nine-figure loss. For the first three quarters of 2010, the sale of American flights was worth approximately $800 million to the latter.
Mayerowitz confirms what I wrote several weeks ago, that a "full out war," as he puts it, is at hand.Continue reading Expedia demotes American Airlines, airline booking war gets HOTExpedia demotes American Airlines, airline booking war gets HOT originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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