Travel News

Delta, American Airlines Pull Fares From Some Third-Party Web Sites

Locations in this article:  Atlanta, GA Dallas, TX

American Airlines Pulls Out Of Business With OrbitzTwo major U.S. airlines have announced they are pulling their listings from specific third-party online travel agencies.

American Airlines won a court ruling yesterday that allows it to yank its listings from Orbitz.com and its subsidiary, Orbitz for Business.

Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines has pulled its inventory from three smaller travel sites, CheapOAir.com, OneTravel.com and BookIt.com.

Both airlines have stated the tickets previously purchased on those online booking sites will still be honored. Any ticketing changes should be made directly with the respective airlines.

Orbitz’s parent company, Travelport, also owns global distribution systems (GDS) Galileo and Worldspan.

Learn about the other big story that could shape the future of online travel booking (most recent stories are first):

In addition to pointing travelers to AA.com for direct bookings, American is looking for travel agencies and ticket clearinghouses to obtain inventory directly from the airline through a tool called AA Direct Connect, rather than through GDS providers. By cutting out the middleman, American will bypass GDS fees.

Delta Airlines Logo - Delta Drops Fares From 3 Small Search SitesDelta has not announced any plans to lure agencies to connect directly to its internal reservations system, but is encouraging travelers to make bookings through Delta.com.

The sluggish economy has driven bargain-hunters to third-party sites, but with conditions slowly improving, the airlines are now in a better position to demand brand loyalty and direct bookings.

Although consumer advocates are predicting a dire outcome for comparison shoppers if other airlines follow suit, the immediate effect will likely be a minor inconvenience for those who rely on the specific booking sites involved in each case.

By Sarika Chawla for PeterGreenberg.com.

Related Links: Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionBloombergUSA TodayGadlingAviation WeekDallas Morning News

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