American Airlines Will No Longer List Fares on Orbitz

American Airlines, one of the leading domestic air carriers of the U.S. announced Tuesday that it will no longer list its fares on the popular travel website Orbitz. The decision to cease booking on the site is a result of a long-running dispute between the airline and the website.

American Airlines and its newly merged concern, US Airways, will stop operating on Orbitz because the partnership has become too costly for the airways. Airlines usually pay these third party websites an amount of money in exchange for customer bookings. The airline now claims that business with Orbitz is no longer feasible.

"We have worked tirelessly with Orbitz to reach a deal with the economics that allow us to keep costs low and compete with low-cost carriers,'' Scott Kirby, president of American Airlines, said in a statement, according to USA Today.

"There are a multitude of other options available for our customers, including brick-and-mortar agencies, online travel agencies and our own websites," Kirby added.

Indeed, the airline and the travel agency have been trying to resolve the cost dispute for more than three years now. In 2010, American Airlines and Orbitz were entangled in a legal battle regarding fare listing and at that time, the court made it mandatory for the airline to list its fares through Orbitz, The Wall Street Journal reports. This time, the decision to de-list has been more amicable.

But the decision will not affect Orbitz for Corporate, a separate brand for corporate clients that will continue to list American Airlines fares.

"Our sites offer hundreds of airlines, which are eager to capture the revenue American is choosing to forgo and we will continue to show our customers a broad range of flight options to thousands of destinations in the U.S. and worldwide,'' Orbitz said in a statement.

Orbitz is the second largest travel agency in the U.S. after Expedia. Experts say that the pull-back will affect Orbitz overall content.

"Airlines say publicly that they are happy to work with (online travel agencies), but of course they are constantly evaluating the costs and benefits of working with each of (them). It has a huge effect on the completeness of Orbitz's content," Maggie Rauch, research analyst for PhoCusWright told The Chicago Tribune.

However, some were quick to add that this was not the industry scenario and was more "singular" and restricted to the two parties.