Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Sabre Pulls American Listings

In an dramatic acceleration of the war between online travel aggregators and Fort Worth-based American Airlines, Southlake-based Sabre Holdings--the parent firm of Travelocity, and the firm which supplies American Airlines listings to Orbitz and Expedia--said it is pulling its listing of American Airlines flights in early August. American has been sparring with Expedia and Orbitz over their use of OTAs like Sabre for listing American Airlines flights, in an attempt to force those companies to instead use its Direct Connect technology for booking flights. Sabres said that American Airliens has been looking to impose a "costly, unproven and unnecessary system on agencies and corporations," which makes it harder for consumer to comparison shop. The firm said it is "taking actions to protect its interests and those of its customers". In addition to pulling listings, Sabre also said it is downgrading American fares, making it harder to see in its displays. The firm said the move does not affect its own booking site, Travelocity.