Expedia is coming to the defense of its online travel rival Orbitz in a dispute around how tickets from American Airlines are sold online. Just a few days after American said that it would stop selling tickets through Orbitz, Expedia has jumped into the fray by making it much harder for consumers to find tickets from the airline on the Expedia Web site.
"This has been done in light of both American Airlines' recent decision to prevent Orbitz from selling its inventory and a possible disruption in Expedia's ability to sell American Airlines tickets when our contract with American Airlines expires," Expedia said in a statement obtained by Reuters.
Obviously, this is a huge battle in how airline tickets are sold online. And it could have big implications on Bellevue-based Expedia. American fired back at Expedia, saying that the online travel vendor is engaged in "favoritism toward other airlines airfares."