Airlines Work on Their Web Footing

Airlines have been polishing their online ticket counters to a fine sheen, adding best-price guarantees and features like online check-in to their own Web sites in an effort to get travelers to buy direct.

Yet for the most part, they're not ending their reliance on third-party Internet sellers, because they still want broad distribution in a market where many customers view air travel as a commodity and shop purely on price.

"They need the agencies, but at the same time they want people to book direct," said Henry Harteveldt, an analyst at Forrester Research, a Cambridge, Mass., technology consulting company. "The airlines have little brand loyalty and little differentiation, so they rely on online and offline travel agencies." ...