As the airline booking battle heats up, what does it mean for travelers?

The battle between airlines and travel agents intensified this week with the launch of a site aimed at garnering public support for the travel agents' cause - but what does the conflict mean for consumers?

Airlines are at war with the people who sell tickets for them. Or at least, that's what travelers could be forgiven for thinking, reading the websites which claim to represent the opposing sides of the "direct-connect" debate.

On one side, American Airlines and the broader Open Axis Group, which says that airlines are limited in what they can sell by existing software systems and consumers would benefit if they had more control over the way they sell their flights, and the growing number of additional ("ancillary") services such as baggage fees.

On the other, the new Open Allies for Airfare Transparency, which contends that the effect of such a change in systems will be a comparison shopping experience which is limited and would be contrary to the principle of transparency.

Although the debate has been rumbling within the confines of the airline industry for several months now, it spilled out very publicly at the end of 2010 when American Airlines pulled its flights from Orbitz, one of the world's most popular travel booking sites.

Fellow US airline Delta removed its flights from some second tier websites at around the same time, but the next significant blow was struck in January when another major booking site, Expedia, also removed American Airlines flights.

Now, it appears that both sides are gearing up for a lengthy public dispute, with the Open Allies attempting to rally support by asking individuals to share the campaign using social media sites and producing a short YouTube video to explain its side of the issue.

Many travel analysts have voiced concerns that American's removal of flights from Orbitz and Expedia could just be the beginning, with other airlines watching and waiting before potentially following suit.

If that happens, consumers will find it far harder to comparison shop for airfares, needing to visit each site individually to get the details of suitable flights and learning many of the nuances automated by online travel agents such as codeshares and multiple carrier routings to ensure they get the best deal.

If that sounds like a return to a bygone time, that's because it is, something that the Open Allies aren't likely to let their supporters forget.

"Bottom line, this will make airfare shopping harder," says airfare analyst George Hobica on the Open Allies site.

"Just like in the old days when you called up each airline in turn to find the lowest fare. This is not a good thing for consumers, especially if it spreads to other airlines and third party sites."

That said, it may not be correct to assume that the overall traveler experience will worsen if airlines stop using fare comparison sites.

Several carriers, both in the US and internationally, don't connect to sites such as Expedia and Orbitz - Southwest and Ryanair are among the most obvious examples.

In each case, the airline tightly controls the booking process, which can lead to an easier and smoother experience for the customer who has a single go-to point for his or her booking - and if the experience isn't good enough, a customer can drop the airline and go elsewhere.

Some price comparison sites, such as Priceline, have accepted the terms of American's new Direct Connect model, leading some analysts to suggest that travel agents will be forced to evolve given that their business is dependent on offering a wide choice of airlines, no matter what it costs them or the consumer.

For the moment though, comparison shopping isn't over and both sides of the argument appear to be holding fire. How long that will last, and what effect it will have on passengers, is another question.

Learn about the debate:

http://www.openaxisgroup.org

http://www.faretransparency.org