American to Distribute Ancillaries Thru Amadeus

American Airlines will distribute its ancillary products and services through Amadeus under a new long-term, full-content agreement.

The deal is similar to American’s new agreement with Travelport. In both cases, American will connect its API with the GDS provider’s API for “end-to-end XML connectivity.” (See Travelport, American Settle Antitrust Lawsuit.)

Personalized offers
Cory Garner, American’s managing director of sales operations and distribution, said the deals include the so-called “feedback loop,” which enables the sale of real-time personalized offers. He said American will be able to track which offers are the most successful.

The deal also will enable travel agencies to sell products like American’s Main Cabin Extra, which provides four to six inches of additional legroom and Group 1 boarding.

The companies have not revealed a timeline for when the links will be completed, but Garner said work is under way with Travelport. Both Travelport and Amadeus have an interest in getting the projects up and running, he said.

Travel management companies will still have the option of connecting directly with American, Garner said.