Us Tickets No Longer Available On Expedia

[tadjr]

US Airways Tickets No Longer Available on expedia.com


Effective immediately, US Airways tickets will no longer be available through expedia.com.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Expedia raised the fee it charges customers to purchase a US Airways ticket (from $5 to $8.99). This higher fee only applies to US Airways and our customers. This action – taken without notice – unfairly puts our customers in the middle of discussions with Expedia about its desire to significantly increase the commission it charges US Airways for selling our tickets.

By taking the action it did, Expedia also represented to the public that our fares were higher than those of our competitors because Expedia factored in its higher fee for US Airways tickets.

As a result, we have notified Expedia that, effective immediately, US Airways tickets will no longer be available for sale online through expedia.com.

Customers have every assurance that travel already purchased through Expedia will not be affected. If you need any other assistance with your reservation, please call our reservations department at 1-800-428-4322 and one of our professional sales representatives will help you.

There are other convenient choices for purchasing US Airways tickets online, including through usairways.com, where there are no booking fees, where low fares are always listed, and where customers earn bonus Dividend Miles with their purchase.

In the event we can work out an agreement with Expedia that is mutually beneficial, we will quickly restore Expedia’s ability to sell US Airways tickets. Meanwhile, like some other carriers, our fares will not be available through Expedia.

 

[MarkMyWords]

WOW! Someone grew some kahoonas! LOL

 

[SalesGuyCCY]

Amazing..what does everything think?!! Sounds like a smart move if the company felt it is was being treated unfairly by Expedia....yes good that the company has some balls!!!

 

[AP Tech]

Sounds to me that people are starting to realize what type of people are running this company(thieves and liars). Its nice to see that Dave and Co are having things forced upon them for a change.....and they don't seem to like it!!! Its sad though in the end its the dedicated employee's who will suffer the most. Dave will take his millions and move to his next victim!!!!

 

[MarkMyWords]

AP -

I am not sure you understand what happened. Expedia was putting US at a disadvantage with our competitors by charging our customers a higher fee then other airlines. The company more or less told the to shove it. If you aren't going to level the playing field and charge us all teh same fare, then you won't sell tickets on us. (Of course if UA is still selling tickets on Expedia, they will still be on our airplanes as code share customers - with a lower fee.)

 

[Traveler]

Perhaps it could be viewed as a bold move by the Company.

However, considering the history of diplomacy of this executive team, I wonder again if all this could be preventable if not for threats, ultimatums and clumsy initiatives standing in the way of rational negotiation.

Give the Exec's and their Families at Expedia unlimited space positive, upgrades, Clubs and etc. That should help.

If Management is not marketing the Airline, then these popular online services become one of our few outlets for Advertising and sales.

Consider the consistency of Siegel and his Management style when reading about deals going sour.

It doesn’t mean we aren’t being singled out by Expedia, however, I’d like to hear all the facts to prove USAirways’ Management isn’t again proving they have no talent for tactful negotiations. When this troubled child in the classroom gets in a brawl with just about every Labor, Political and Business entity they come in contact with, I just begin to doubt the sincerity of the child. And we tire at his blaming everyone else for his misery.

 

[ITRADE]

Given that Northwest got into a similar pissing match with Expedia not too many months ago, don't be surprised to see a resolution in the next couple weeks.

 

[tadjr]

And advertising on the same subject in USA Today to boot! Wow, whats going on? There was a half or 3/4 page ad in section A today advertising no service charge on US.com and advising that we were no longer available on Expedia. Impressive.

 

[USA320Pilot]

US Airways Leaves Expedia

ARLINGTON (theHub.com) - US Airways yesterday notified Expedia that, effective immediately, our tickets can no longer be sold online via expedia.com. This was done because over the Thanksgiving holiday, Expedia raised the fee it charges our customers to purchase a US Airways ticket from $5 to $8.99. Expedia’s decision unfairly puts our customers in the middle of our discussions with Expedia about Expedia’s desire to increase the commission it charges for directly selling our tickets. Expedia never informed the company of this increase, so we were unable to give our customers any advance warning.

“We are disappointed that Expedia made a unilateral decision that has forced our customers to pay a higher fee to purchase US Airways tickets,†said Senior Vice President of Marketing and Planning Ben Baldanza. “Despite Expedia being the world’s largest online travel distributor, it is also our most expensive online distribution channel, so it is not surprising that other airlines have decided not to sell through Expedia. The combination of higher fees to consumers, higher costs for us, and a discriminatory booking fee that applies only to our customers led to this regrettable decision.â€

Baldanza added that Expedia’s booking fees have gone up by approximately 80 percent and that doing business with Expedia at these disproportionate rates is out of the question. “These tactics are designed to get us to pay higher booking fees, unfortunately at the expense of our customers,†said Baldanza. “The rate that Expedia wants to charge for US Airways bookings is higher than that of any other carrier and it does not cost Expedia any more to process a US Airways ticket. We cannot allow them to differentiate, and we won’t.â€

“What Expedia is doing underscores the enormous harm that display bias presents to consumers and travel providers. By taking the action it did, Expedia represented to the public that our fares were higher than that of our competitors because Expedia factored in its higher fee for US Airways tickets,†he said.
US Airways tickets already purchased through expedia.com will not be impacted and customers will be able to travel as ticketed. For other assistance with existing expedia.com-issued US Airways tickets and itineraries, customers should call US Airways Reservations at 1-800-428-4322. There remain other convenient choices for purchasing US Airways tickets online, including through usairways.com, where there are no booking fees, where low fares are always listed, and where customers earn bonus Dividend Miles with their purchase.

Baldanza said that the company must remain fully committed to controlling its costs and continues to closely review all aspects of the company’s business to look for every possible way to operate more efficiently and compete more aggressively. “Everything is on the table,†said Baldanza. “This is just one example of how we are protecting our franchise by staying focused on cost reduction and revenue growth.†He added that the company will continue to meet with Expedia to work toward an equitable solution.

Regards,

Chip

 

[SalesGuyCCY]

Yea, that was totally gutsy, the USA TODAY ad and an exclusive story in the newspaper. Apparently the ads ran in CLT, PHL and PIT newspapers as well. What's going on here?!

 

[USA320Pilot]

SalesGuy:

Your comment about the Ads in the newspaper are appropriate. It takes time to have an agency create an ad and then buy the space from the newspaper, therefore, the decision to cancel the Expedia deal has likely been in the works for some time.

In the company's statement Ben Baldanza said that the company must remain fully committed to controlling its costs and continues to closely review all aspects of the company’s business to look for every possible way to operate more efficiently and compete more aggressively. “Everything is on the table,â€￾ said Baldanza.

In my opinion, US Airways is trying to lower its discounter e-commerce commission with "everything on the table". Expedia is the most expensive of its online distributors and the airline would like to reduce its distribution expense by directing more on-line purchases through www.usairways.com and it would like to replace Expedia through other sources, if possible.

With that said, with US Airways stating the company will continue to meet with Expedia to work toward an equitable solution and previous Expedia disputes, I suspect there will be a deal worked out in the near-term that could be more favorable for US Airways.

Regards,

Chip

 

[ClueByFour]

Expedia is like one of the top two web sites for airline bookings.

So, once again, instead of trying to drive new revenue, Little Dave and Ben the Monopoly player decided to kill a "revenue" stream.

Amazing.

 

[Traveler]

Expedia is like one of the top two web sites for airline bookings.

So, once again, instead of trying to drive new revenue, Little Dave and Ben the Monopoly player decided to kill a "revenue" stream.

Cluebyfour

It is, indeed, sad. This tiff with expedia is probably necessary.

However this is just another day and expedia is just another target for more exposure of USAirways growing image of poor public relations in all it’s communities. It’s sad that USAirways’ commercial and news related advertising in the Media is often highlighted with negative postures directed at the various levels of Government and it’s agencies, Contractors, Vendors, Competitors and Employees.

The voice and personality of USAirways is one of bitterness, self justification, perpetual displeasure and defensive cynicism. When will we be proud to hold up evidence of a positive USAirways marketing campaign, and enthusiastically say to new acquaintance, “yes, I’m a part of thatâ€.

I feel the same embarrassment for Management as I would if they were aberrant neighbors. You perhaps heard of the type. The kind you’re stuck living with in a community. The kind of neighbors who bring the fellowship in a community down. The kind that rarely contributes an uplifting spirit. When you speak with them, they’re saying something negative about someone else. When they’re speaking with someone else, they’re saying something negative about you. Then of course, it’s capped off with an occasional brawl that spills out of their house, onto the street, in a public forum.

It shouldn’t be this hard to find something good in a product brand. But what has this Management contributed to the excitement and excellence of our Company Image, Company morale, Corporate opportunity and political, trade, and community symbiosis.

 

[Walmart Greeter]

PineyBob is right.

Expedia was picking on US and US stood up for itself. The employees should stand up and be proud of this. The team at the Crystal Palace may have more fight in them than we give them credit for.

 

[PITbull]

Find us good "leadership", and we will rally the troops.