Cheap fares, whether cheap airplane tickets or cheap vacation packages become harder to find when airlines stop listing their fares on travel websites. Such action requires customers to go to multiple websites (both the airlines and travel Internet sites) before they can make informed buying decisions. Alternatively customers may buy after visiting only a single website; without having all the needed information to confirm they are getting a really good cheap deal.
Recently American Airlines decided to stop allowing Orbitz to show or sell its fares on its travel Internet site. Delta made the same decision with CheapOair and One Travel.
Orbitz sold $800 million worth of American Airline tickets in the first nine months of 2010. CheapOairs figures are not available, but given that Delta is the largest airline in the United States, pulling its fares from CheapOair is significant.
Airlines are trying to get more customers to directly purchase airline tickets from their websites because:
When this happens the airlines do not have to pay Central Reservation Systems (such as Sabre) for each reservation made, thus improving their bottom line.
When customers purchase directly from the airlines, most airline websites offer other travel services, including hotels, car rentals, and travel insurance. The airlines derive income when those services are purchased on their websites.
On their sites airlines do not show or allow the purchase of the cheapest fares if part of that fare includes flying on another competing airline.
Some travel experts argue that the airlines decision to start pulling fares off travel Internet websites is short sighted. Currently about 28 percent of the people who visit online travel companies ultimately purchase their tickets from the airlines websites instead. If American or Delta fares are not shown on travel websites, one in four customers may ultimately purchase their tickets directly from a competing airlines website.
Who is the loser in this process? Clearly the purchaser of airline tickets. If American and Delta are successful in their attempt to delist fares from travel websites, customers will no longer have an open and transparent marketplace to shop at.
If ultimately American and Delta believe that their initial moves to delist their fares from select travel Internet companies are successful, it is likely that they will significantly expand those sites that are no longer allowed to show their fares.
www.cheapfares.com