AA wins direct connect challenge with Expedia

[WorldTraveler]

Despite the fact that some see me as the Capt. Killjoy of all things AA, I went on record as saying that AA should stick to its guns on the direct connect strategy and it appears that Expedia has now agreed to it....

Expedia said it plans to access American's fares, schedules, and customized travel products and services via American's direct connect link by using aggregation technology provided by a GDS. Expedia is committed to working with airlines, GDS and other technology partners to ensure continued innovation within the Expedia marketplace.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/American-Airlines-and-Expedia-prnews-2221478164.html?x=0&.v=1

The significance is large not only for AA but the evolution of distribution...
.
and a reminder that all the savings AA comes up with in distribution costs is less they have to get from their employees...

 

[Maark767]

Despite the fact that some see me as the Capt. Killjoy of all things AA, I went on record as saying that AA should stick to its guns on the direct connect strategy and it appears that Expedia has now agreed to it....

Expedia said it plans to access American's fares, schedules, and customized travel products and services via American's direct connect link by using aggregation technology provided by a GDS. Expedia is committed to working with airlines, GDS and other technology partners to ensure continued innovation within the Expedia marketplace.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/American-Airlines-and-Expedia-prnews-2221478164.html?x=0&.v=1

The significance is large not only for AA but the evolution of distribution...
.
and a reminder that all the savings AA comes up with in distribution costs is less they have to get from their employees...

FYI... They are not getting any more savings from their employees.... We gave blood sweat and tears in 2003..... Sorry, go BK to get it...

 

[jersey777]

FYI... They are not getting any more savings from their employees.... We gave blood sweat and tears in 2003..... Sorry, go BK to get it...

You tell em girl!

 

[PhatSappy]

Go bAAck and get it, indeed.

 

[eolesen]

http://www.m-travel.com/news/2011/05/how-has-the-lack-of-american-airlines-content-impacted-orbitzcom.html

http://www.m-travel.com/news/2011/05/pricelines-us-airline-ticket-business-benefits-from-absence-of-aa-on-other-sites.html

 

[Hopeful]

http://www.m-travel.com/news/2011/05/how-has-the-lack-of-american-airlines-content-impacted-orbitzcom.html

http://www.m-travel.com/news/2011/05/pricelines-us-airline-ticket-business-benefits-from-absence-of-aa-on-other-sites.html

Guess William Shatner has some clout with Priceline.

Imagine that.....a bit player like AA having an impact on the profits of travel sites.

 

[eolesen]

Yep, but it's fair to say from AA's results that they also lost out on this early in the quarter...

 

[Hopeful]

Yep, but it's fair to say from AA's results that they also lost out on this early in the quarter...

True...but they were not alone in the losses.

 

[WorldTraveler]

.... but apparently has lost the suit against Orbitz

CHICAGO , Nov. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The following Orbitz Worldwide statement is in response to the court ruling granting Orbitz Worldwide's motion to dismiss American Airlines' federal antitrust claims.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Orbitz-Issues-Statement-prnews-3367050787.html?x=0&l=1

 

[FWAAA]

The judge dismissed all of AA's claims against Orbitz but not all the claims against Travelport (Orbitz parent co) and Sabre:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-22/travelport-says-judge-dismissed-most-of-american-airlines-monopoly-claims.html?cmpid=yhoo

Perfect case for the media to spin it the way they desire - the judge sealed the ruling. Can't imagine why.

 

[chris perry]

Exactly how you guys spin our labor costs!!!

 

[WorldTraveler]

Looks like AA has prevailed with Sabre also..... and gets money to boot.

"Sabre and American Airlines announce they have settled their disputes and have renewed their current distribution agreement for multiple years. American has also agreed to negotiate with Sabre for additional technology services in the future. As part of the settlement, American will receive a monetary payment from Sabre. American will continue pursuing its direct connect initiative. Additional information will be announced at a later date. Terms of the settlement and distribution agreements require review and approval by the court presiding over AMR Corporation’s restructuring procedures."

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-airlines-sabre-holdings-issued-134800861.html

 

[eolesen]

Looks like it is detente more than anything else. And it really doesn't appear to address the status of keeping Sabre as AA's PSS.

It will be interesting to see how much of this settlement gets disclosed in the bankruptcy court filing. The previous findings were done outside of bankruptcy. With this one, the court will need to approve it, and the UCC presumably has to agree to it as well.

A few people on some other trade blogs have commented that the "money back from Sabre" is probably not much more than refunding the higher fees Sabre had been charging once the previous distribution agreement expired, maybe with some interest.

 

[WorldTraveler]

probably all true... I think the bigger item is that direct connect has not been stopped which has significance for the GDS industry.

 

[eolesen]

Personal opinion disclaimer... Sometimes an idea that seems like it would revolutionize or disrupt things winds up being a fizzle.

After about three years of promoting the concept, AA hasn't exactly been able to convince agencies or corporate directs to move in that direction. I can't help but wonder if it just didn't work out to be all that compelling of a business case after all. AA certainly doesn't seem quite as passionate about it as they were when they first started pushing the idea.