Priceline Bucks the Trend, Signs Direct Connect Pact With AA
by Michèle McDonaldPriceline.com bucked a trend among online travel sites when it signed an agreement earlier this week to link with American Airlines via the carrier’s direct-connect technology. The site expects to begin issuing American tickets through the connection “in the near future.”
The direct-connect strategy and connection is an ongoing bone of contention between American and both online and offline agents.
In December, American revoked Orbitz.com’s authority to issue its tickets because it would not connect via the new link. It stopped selling tickets through Expedia.com at the end of the year when its contract expired and two companies could not reach a new agreement.
American wants online and traditional agencies to connect directly with the carrier through a technology called XML.
The airline says the new link will better enable the marketing and selling of its ancillary products and services, such as priority boarding, inflight Internet and lounge access. American also wants to create customized flight and merchandising offers for passengers based on their preferences and their history with the airline.
In another recent development around the carrier’s direct-connect strategy, American signed an agreement with ITA Software last week for the development of a new “availability engine” that will enable the creation of customized offers. (See AA Taps ITA Software to Push Ahead its Merchandising Strategy, Travel Market Report, Jan. 20, 2011.)
