American Airlines Stops Selling First-, Business-Class And International Tickets On ExpediaAmerican Airlines Stops Selling First-, Business-Class And International Tickets On Expedia

American Airlines has stopped selling first and business class tickets through online travel agency Expedia.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline issued a short statement late Thursday saying it would still sell coach tickets for travel in the United States through Expedia, which was spun off by IAC/InterActiveCorp in August 2005.

The airline on Friday said it wasn't able to renegotiate a distribution deal for the higher-priced tickets. "We simply could not come to economic terms with Expedia," Mary Anderson, spokeswoman for the airline, said Friday. "We still have a good relationship with Expedia, but we just had to let the public know" about the change.

American will sell international and domestic first- and business-class tickets through its own Web site and through other travel agencies. The company did not give a reason for discontinuing sales through Expedia, but said it was effective immediately.

Airlines compete for online customers with travel agencies. Consumers, however, typically visit multiple Web sites when buying airline tickets, with price being the most important factor in the sale, experts say.