United Airlines to possibly block sale of tickets on Expedia

Since the start of February, the United Airlines and Expedia have been battling a lawsuit filed in New York. The dispute is over whether Expedia should be allowed to sell flights valid beyond the contract expiry on the end of September 2019.As United Airlines has decided not to renew the contract, Expedia will not be able to make refunds or alternative flight arrangements to tickets beyond the expiry. Amid negotiations, United Airlines has said to media outlets that it might cease accepting bookings from Expedia as soon as the end of this month.In a statement to Simpleflying.com, it accused Expedia of resorting to litigation to “maximise the number of Expedia customers holding United tickets for flights” after contract expiration in the “hopes that the frustration, disruption, and expense that would otherwise result to these customers” will force United to carry on working with Expedia.Expedia in turn, said United did not have any right to breach the existing agreement it had. In the filing sent to Marketing by Expedia, the platform said that such an action would cause "irreparable harm" as it is unable to provides a full-service offering, an ability that gives the company its competitive edge. According to the filing, the negotiations initiated by United was an attempt to renegotiate "economic terms".According to CNBC, the lawsuit said at the time the filing that United Airlines had provided flights to Expedia through 6 January 2020, and customers had reserved more than 2,000 seats. Marketing has reached out to both parties for additional comments.