Consumers looking to compare prices on airline tickets may no longer be able to rely on online travel agencies for one-stop-comparison-shopping.  American Airlines announced on Tuesday that it will no longer sell tickets through Orbitz in an effort to reduce costs.

Online travel agencies like Orbitz get flight information for airline partners from global distribution systems (GDS), which then charge the airlines each time consumers search or book a flight.  For months, American Airlines has been trying to negotiate a deal with Orbitz that would allow them to bypass the GDSes.  American proposed that Orbitz link directly to AA’s reservation system, eliminating the fees paid to GDS and, according to American, allowing Orbitz customers to get the best and most accurate price on American flights.

Orbitz, which shares ownership with one of the largest GDS companies, refused to access American’s inventory directly and requested an injunction in an Illinois court that would prevent American Airlines from pulling their flights from the site.  Circuit Court Judge Martin Agran denied the online travel agency’s request on Tuesday, and American promptly announced that they would no longer be offering flights through Orbitz.

At the moment, all parties involved are claiming not to be concerned.

Orbitz’s CEO Barney Harford said, ”In the near term, we believe that if American Airlines removes its flights from our websites, most of the impacted ticket volume will be replaced by other suppliers, and we will continue to earn most of the associated ancillary revenue.”

American released a statement saying that, “In today’s competitive marketplace, it is important for American to be free to customize its product offerings to improve the customer experience as well as distribute its products in a way that does not result in unnecessary costs.”  The airline may be hoping to model the recent success of competitor Southwest, which has reported record profits since promoting their “No Fee” policy and has always required online consumers to purchase directly from their website.

With airlines refusing to pay middleman fees and local governments suing over unpaid taxes, is it time for online travel agencies to re-examine their business practices?