American Airlines and American Express Global Business Travel have agreed “in principle” to look at cooperating on direct distribution.
In a joint statement the airline and travel management company (TMC) said they are looking to “explore a long-term arrangement for the benefit of their corporate clients”.
The statement continued: “Under this arrangement, American Express Global Business Travel would receive guaranteed direct long-term access to AA’s fares, schedules, and customized travel products and services via AA’s direct connect link through aggregation technology for such content provided by one or GDSs.”
Full terms and conditions of the new agreement between Amex and AA were not disclosed, and the deal remains subject to a “definitive agreement”.
The announcement follows a similar move earlier this month by another global TMC, HRG.
AA is currently entrenched in a bitter dispute with a number of GDSs about how it sells tickets.
The airline wants bookers to buy tickets through its Direct Connect product that bypasses the traditional global distribution systems.