American Airlines: Fares Return to Orbitz
Following a three-day embargo, American Airlines flight fares are now listed again on Orbitz.
The online travel search engine said Friday that it has reached an understanding with the airline to continue selling their and US Airways tickets on its sites.
Terms of this arrangement were not disclosed. The flight listings were yanked from Orbitz by American who disputed over the fees Orbitz charged to list and fill the seats.
American said on Tuesday that it had lowered its fares on Orbitz, CheapTickets and ebookers.com and that US Airways, which American acquired last December, would soon do the same. As a result, Chicago-based Orbitz shares dropped about 5 percent Tuesday.
This dispute, while brief, mostly affected consumers buying tickets in the U.S. as Orbitz continued to sell American flights' partners like British Airways and Japan Airlines.
While Orbitz Worldwide stock rose slightly on Friday, the shares were still off by roughly 4 percent for the week. American Airlines Group stock lost 2.4 percent this week.
Now the two parties have both made statements saying they are on the road to mend their relationship.
"The companies are working toward final agreements based on the letter of intent," American said in a recent statement.
Sam Fulton, president of Orbitz.com, said in a statement that his company is "pleased that our long-standing relationship with American Airlines allowed us to quickly resolve business matters, and that we continue to offer a broad range of options, including American Airlines and US Airways flights, to the millions of shoppers who book travel on our global sites each day."
American and its merger partner US Airways account for roughly a quarter of the travel market in the U.S., and Orbitz is the second-largest online travel agency for domestic flights. Expedia is the only site that exceeds their bookings.
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