GYEWorldTraveler

Is it???

I don't believe it is at all. They are already a struggling airline and losing a couple of the main third party companies is only going to hurt their revenue. I know of quite a few businesses that are pretty large in size that use Orbitz for Business to book tickets.....with AA gone, they just lost a lot of revenue there that will now have to go to other airlines.

Another large issue that AA will face is that Expedia and Orbitz allow customers to see all options for airlines, times, etc in one spot. Only loyal AA frequent flyers will be going to AA.com. AA will lose a huge chunk of the leisure segment that just buys tickets based on price/convenience. Since AA won't be listed on these sites, they are in trouble and will lose a number of passengers. While I understand that these passengers are low yield, they are a necessary part of business.....they are filling last minute seats, giving AA guaranteed revenue and baggage fees and other ancillary revenue (change fees, onboard purchases, etc). I personally think this is a really really stupid move on AAs part and is going to make their business take a big revenue hit. Never fun losing customers (no matter how low yield they are) because that is $$$$ out of AAs pocket and bottom line as well as empty seats that could have been sold via these third party sites.

I wish AA the best of luck but I fear that this will hurt them and if other airlines don't follow suit, AA will be secluded again and in the financial situation they are currently in, we could have some real issues ahead for AA....