Alexandria, VA (December 22, 2010) – The National Business Travel Association (NBTA), the voice of the business travel industry, today commented on the American Airlines decision to stop displaying and selling tickets through Orbitz Worldwide. NBTA is also concerned that recent actions by Delta Airlines to pull their inventory from three smaller online travel agencies is a prelude to other airlines taking steps that will ultimately harm the business travel industry.

“American Airlines’ decision will lead to higher prices and confusion for corporations, business travelers and consumers alike. Travelers wanting to fly American will now need to bounce back and forth across multiple websites to book a trip. American’s decision does nothing to help business travelers or their employers – it adds an unnecessary obstacle to smooth business travel booking and will lead to higher costs in the end.  NBTA believes it is critical to maintain a fair, transparent and competitive buying environment for business travel, and American’s decision is in direct opposition to this goal,”   said Mike McCormick, Executive Director and COO, National Business Travel Association.

Global Distribution Systems, widely utilized by airlines worldwide, enable business travel procurement and promote transparency, access and competition. They provide business travel purchasers with the information required to make informed spending decisions.

NBTA’s position is that airline mandated “direct connects” that bypass the existing distribution systems will result in a significant increase in capital expenditure that business travel buyers will ultimately bear.  In addition, businesses that rely on information to negotiate for and maintain airline discount programs will be challenged in their ability to track volume and enforce travel policies.

Mr. McCormick concluded, “Air travel in general and business travel in particular is a major driving force for the economy, and we are increasingly concerned about this decision as part of a pattern of recent activity that will come at the expense of the business travel buyer.  We will be releasing a comprehensive position on behalf of our members related to these concerns in the new year.”

The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) is the world’s premier business travel and corporate meetings organization. NBTA and its regional affiliates – NBTA Australia/New Zealand, the Brazilian Business Travel Association (ABGEV), NBTA Canada, NBTA Europe, NBTA Mexico, and NBTA USA – serve a network of more than 17,000 business travel professionals around the globe with industry-leading events, networking, education & professional development, research, news & information, and advocacy. NBTA members, numbering more than 5,000 in 30 nations, are corporate and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers. They collectively manage and direct more than US$340 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually on behalf of more than 13 million business travelers within their organizations. For more information, visit www.nbta.org.