American Airlines pulls fares from Orbitz again

American Airlines has once again pulled its fares from Orbitz following a contract dispute.

The move is effective immediately, meaning American Airlines tickets can no longer be booked on the Orbitz platform, while US Airways fare will disappear from 1 September.

The change primarily affects Orbitz.com and Cheaptickets.com, while corporate clients using Orbitz for Business to book travel are not affected.

This is a major problem for the booking agent which relies heavily on air fares to drive revenues, with the move expected to yield a 1.8% loss in revenue for the company, according to Bloomberg.

The two have been battling since 2010 when the carrier first pulled its fares from the site, with American’s president Scott Kirby seemingly unhappy with its position on the platform.

In a statement he said: “We have worked tirelessly with Orbitz to reach a deal with the economics that allow us to keep costs low and compete with low-cost carrier. While our fares are no longer on Orbitz, there are a multitude of other options available for our customers.”

American first took its fares off Orbitz in December 2010 when Orbitz asked to receive passenger information directly from the airline instead of GDS. Expedia supported its competitor by pushing American’s fares below other carriers for a short period.

The dispute is one of several in recent years where airlines and hotels have been working to ensure the right terms with online travel agencies. American was also embroiled with a dispute with GDS provider Travelport which ended in March last year when the carrier signed an agreement to include all its content on the platform again.

In the hotel sphere the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) recently accepted commitments that allow Booking.com, Expedia and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) to offer discounted hotel rates under specific criteria, again focused around offering the best competition and return for all parties including consumers.