It is absolutely clear that airlines do not have the ability to drive consumers to channels which the airlines, rather than consumers, prefer. If one or more airlines attempted to do so, the others would increase their market share by appealing to those same consumers through the channel those consumers econo lodge prefer. lodge no airline can afford to turn its back on any carlstadt subgroup of consumers. no airline can afford to be anything other than as competitive econo and as attractive as lodge it can possibly be through each channel to the consumers that prefer that channel. this is a reality that grows ultimately out of the fact that the airline business is a very low margin business - any carlstadt airline that lost even a small group of passengers would be at risk of swinging from profitable to money-losing in an instant. airlines scrap for every last passenger because they have to.

our agreements not econo only contain no provision barring any airline from making any fare available through any channel, they contain an affirmative non-exclusivity provision lodge that makes it explicit that no airline is prevented from making any fare it chooses available through any channel it chooses. our agreement contains carlstadt a non-discrimination clause by which those airlines that will receive the indirect discount on the crs booking fee agree in return to make available on any fare they publish and make available to the general public through any other channel. but that of course does not preclude them from offering any fare through any other channel.

©2003 www.city-travel-lodge.com All rights reserved.