January 6, 2010 - American Airlines and the online travel agencies want the American people to be a part of this big debate between American Airlines, Orbitz, Expedia and now Sabre Travel. None of these companies appear to be open and honest with the American people as to what the real issues are and how this will impact travelers. They toy with the American people with press release after press release offering no substantive information, just finger pointing. 

In December American Airlines reported in a press release it had discontinued displaying and selling fares through Orbitz, citing, “failure to reach a mutually beneficial commercial agreement.” American Airlines stated it had ended services with Expedia as a result of Expedia website began discriminating against American's flights and schedules by listing them lower in the search display than those of other airlines.

Blah Blah Blah. For now it appears there is no debate, “full transparency”, just kids in wet diapers. To articulate and solve problems the facts need to be clear. Many of our readers are concerned with the number of Americans who will go to bed tonight without having eaten a warm meal, or the number of families trying to figure out how they will make ends meet. These press releases are nothing more than a three-card monte, that is who can shuffle the cards the best and hide the truth. 

One of our readers informed us that they had booked a flight with an air carrier, it so happened to be a flight with American Airlines. For whatever reason the reader was unable to make the flight and later in the day contacted the airline and questioned whether he could get a refund on the purchase price of the ticket. The reader stated that he was told no. “What about the taxes I paid on it, I should at least get that back,” he said to the American Airlines customer service agent. He again was told no. He then asked, “What happens to the taxes that I paid on this ticket?” The reader states the agent could not give an answer.

If you go out on the internet you can find complaint after complaint with the airlines and online travel agencies. One gentleman reported the online travel agency Orbits charge his credit card but did not issue him a ticket. He contacted their customer services and was connected to their India call center. “It should've been easy enough to fix but their India call center manages to screw up even the simplest transactions: none of their representatives has the authority to do anything”