Subscribe
Login
Airlines

United Airlines Argues It Can Block Expedia From Future Fares as Standoff Persists

Brian Sumers
Newark Airport Lounge

Photo Credit: United Airlines says it has the right to prohibit Expedia from selling tickets after Oct. 1 when a contract between the two companies expires. Pictured are United planes at Newark Liberty International Airport in this photo from 2016. Flickr / Tom Heinze

Skift Take

Can these two giant global travel companies work out their differences? Surely consumers would prefer to keep searching for United fares on Expedia.

United Airlines is within its rights to cut off Expedia from selling tickets for flights after October due to a contractural dispute, the carrier said Friday in a federal court filing, a reply to what it called a "meritless" lawsuit filed by the online travel agency earlier this month. In a complaint filed Feb. 4 in federal court in New York, Expedia acknowledged its contract with United ends Sept. 30, but said it may sell whatever tickets it wants until then, even for flights that depart late this year or early in 2020. United said is contractually permitted to stop Expedia from selling post-September flights if it wants, so it can have an "orderly wind-down" of the business relationship. "Limiting ticketing authority to flights that depart

Get unlimited access with Skift Pro.

Subscribe now for complete access to Skift.com's trusted coverage of the travel industry.

Apple Pay, Google Pay, Paypal, VISA, Mastercard, Discover, American Express

Already a subscriber? Login