29 August 2008

Kayak.com and American in dispute over fare searches

Kayak.com will no longer show American Airlines results in a fare search after the airline demanded the website send customers only to its own site to book flights.

Kayak and its sister site SideStep.com have historically sent users not only to AA but also to the likes of Expedia, Travelocity and Priceline to make their reservations for an AA flight once they have identified which flight they want.

The site refuses to bow to AA pressure, reacting instead by removing them from the price options.

A spokesman for Kayak said: ââ¬ÅâœKayak.com and SideStep.com are displaying schedules only (not prices) for American Airlines flights.

"Consumers are still able to compare AA itineraries along with those from hundreds of leading airlines, and if they wish to find the price or purchase an AA ticket, they can still do so by clicking on the Info link and we'll send them into the Orbitz booking path. We think this is a step backwards for consumers and we hope American changes its mind."

AA is unhappy about kayak users going to third party sites because it says they charge additional fees, with the exception of Priceline.

by Dinah Hatch

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• Orbitz/Cheaptickets
  
  

  AA flights on kayak core search results were never available via Expedia, Travelocity or Priceline - they were available via Orbitz and Cheaptickets. Note that kayak will kick off separate searches (in their own windows) for Expedia, etc. - but those results are not readily comparable to offers from other providers. Theoretically prices on aa.com should be lower than on any of the OTAs, so one has to question AA's motivation for this move - are they (or are they planning to) follow USAir's model of adding a booking charge on aa.com?

  By dan Burkhard, Monday, September 1, 2008