ATLANTA, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Delta Air Lines said Tuesday it was cutting ties with several small online ticket sellers to take more control of revenues.
Delta said it would not honor future ticket sales handled through CheapOAir.com, OneTravel.com and BookIt.com, although it would honor any tickets sold through Dec. 17, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday.
Similarly, American Airlines cut ties with online ticket broker Orbitz Wednesday after Orbitz refused to adopt a program the airline developed to help customize ticket sales.
Delta said its tickets would remain available on Orbitz, Travelocity.com., Expedia and Priceline.
Delta executive vice president of network planning, revenue management and marketing Glen Hauenstein said different distribution systems had different values.
Some were of "enormous value," he said. Others, he said, "are of less value."
But the most valuable of all, he said, was a direct line to Delta.
"The most robust experience you should have in that transaction should theoretically be our Web site," he said.
