Online travel firm Expedia drops American Airlines

"As a result, the sale of American Airlines flights on our website has been suspended," Expedia said in a statement, adding however that it remained "open to doing business with American Airlines on terms that are satisfactory to Expedia".

"American Airlines is attempting to introduce a new direct connect model that will result in higher costs and reduced transparency for consumers, making it difficult to compare American Airlines ticket prices and options with offerings by other airlines," it added.

The airlines\' AA Direct Connect model "would compromise travel agents\' ability to provide travelers with the best selection," said Expedia, adding the new commercial strategy "we believe is anti-consumer and anti-choice".

Expedia\'s announcement followed AA\'s move on Wednesday severing its decade-long ties to online travel giant Orbitz in a dispute over the same policy.

American Airlines recently indicated it wants to take greater control of how it sells tickets and other goods and services to online travel agencies.

American hopes to convince future online ticketing clearinghouses to use an electronic pipeline of its own creation, called AA Direct Connect.

Despite its row with Expedia and Orbitz, the airline last week said ticket sales have gone up since December 21, with the loss of the two online travel giants compensated for by other sites, including Priceline and Kayak and its own AA.com website.

"We do not envision a future in which we only sell to our customers through our own branded website," AA sales director Derek DeCross said in a press release on Wednesday.

"Our goal is to have broad distribution channels and choices for our customers, with our products and services delivered efficiently and without unnecessary costs flowing through the process," he added.

Consumer advocates have warned that if other airline carriers follow suit in sidestepping online travel websites, passengers could lose a powerful money-saving tool.

© Copyright AFP Agence France-Presse GmbH - All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed. All reproduction or redistribution is expressly forbidden without the prior written agreement of AFP.