Skift Take
American reintroduced its fares to the channels where travel agencies want to book them, and Isom acknowledged their absence was their biggest "pain point." The airline, too, will be feeling pain for some time.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom outlined numerous steps the airline is taking to "course correct" after abandoning a direct distribution strategy it embarked on in 2023.
The airline could take a $1.5 billion revenue hit this year because of the policy's ongoing effects.
"I'll just be frank," Isom said in answer to an analyst's question during the airline's second quarter earnings call Thursday. "We overindexed on direct, and we've got to find a way to get — to play in the richer pool of indirect revenue. And that starts with having content, having relationships — positive relationships with travel management companies and agencies and then supporting our corporate customers in the ways that they feel valued."
Direct bookings are when customers book without a middleman through AA.com, which was a focus of its previous strategy.
Under the distribution policy that got tossed, clients would only have access to the airline's most robust content, including Main Cab