After a contentious three-month dispute, American Airlines and online travel Web site Expedia have reached an agreement on Monday that would return the airline’s listings to both Expedia and Hotwire.
The drama first emerged in December when American pulled its fares from Orbitz.com.
The goal, according to American, was to point travelers to AA.com for direct bookings and to encourage travel agencies and ticket clearinghouses to obtain inventory directly from the airline through a tool called AA Direct Connect, rather than through global distribution providers.
In a show of solidarity with its rival online travel agency, Expedia pulled American’s fares from its site and from Hotwire.com. The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, so it is unknown if Expedia will be using American’s Direct Connect system.
American’s online prices had continued to be listed on other online travel portals such as Kayak and Bing Travel.
And not only did rival Priceline.com continue to feature American fares, but the number-four ranked online travel agency agreed to use American’s Direct Connect system distribute flight information.
The airline, however, has yet to resolve its differences with online travel company Orbitz, and its fares are still not available on the site.
By Adriana Padilla for PeterGreenberg.com.
Related: MSNBC, The Economist
Related Links on PeterGreenberg.com:
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- American Airlines Allies With Priceline In Dispute With Sabre, Travelport
- AA Gets New Ally: Google’s ITA Acquisition Imminent As DOJ Considers Lawsuit
- News Analysis: What The Battle Between American Airlines & Online Travel Agencies Means for Travelers
- American Wins Injunction Against Sabre As Booking Wars Continue
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- Expedia Protests American Airlines Decision By Hiding Its Fares
- Delta, American Airlines Pull Fares From Some Third-Party Web Sites
