Well, here's some of the context.
http://www.bnet.com/blog/airline-bus...nts-fight/2808
http://www.bnet.com/blog/airline-bus...the-death/2848
This is all a war between American and the corporate parents for Orbitz.
Note the following para in the story:
Remember, it’s not just online agents that use these systems. It’s also the high dollar corporate travel agents. American certainly doesn’t want to lose those, but if it doesn’t play nice with Orbitz, it may very well by paying more for those high dollar travelers. I would assume that if American goes through with the threat to leave Orbitz, these higher fees will make their way onshore to the U.S., where the real pain would come.