Originally Posted by
chongcao
Without the extra expense in GDS, anyone who book directly with AA could benefit from it as no booking fee or credit card fee would ever impose to customers.
Smart consumer will still shop around for choice. But AA made the move as the first in industry to get rid of middleman, which is logical, and long being seen as future of airline indutrsy. If AA successed, other mainline airlines will follow.
The point is, AA is doing its best in deliverying value to customer. The end result may differ from individual case, but I do hope AA could achieve its goal on cost saving.
While I don't quite agree with the last paragraph--AA is doing its best to help itself, regardless of whether it delivers value to the customer--I more broadly agree with your overall point. The middlemen such as Expedia that charge for comparing ticket prices (and then buying through them) are adding to both AA's and the customer's costs. With online alternatives that simply compare ticket costs without being travel agents/middlemen, the point of companies such as Expedia is diminished.