Media Release
Webjet Deletes Delta
2nd February 2011
Webjet today announced it has taken the unprecedented step of disconnecting and deleting Delta from its Australian and New Zealand web site.
Commenting Webjet’s Managing Director, David Clarke, said:
Over the last decade Webjet has found appropriate commercial accommodations with all airlines as distribution philosophies, economics and structural requirements have changed.
Our North American operation however received without any sensible reason or appropriate notice, along with, as we understand many other OTA’s, a termination of our right to promote, display or ticket Delta in the North American market.
We indicated to Delta that if they pursued what we consider to be an unlawful process which may well be subject to court proceedings by us in North America, we would have no alternative but to discontinue the sale of Delta products from the Australian and New Zealand markets where we contribute substantial and growing revenue and where of course there is an intense hunger from Delta’s competitors for our traffic.
The particular galling component of Delta’s actions in North America is Delta has acknowledged Webjet has been fully compliant with all of Delta’s North American ticketing display and other regulatory processes and appears to have reached a view it can cherry pick our revenue production in markets where it suits or doesn’t suit.
Well, that is just not going to happen.
We are at this stage considering all legal options and regulatory processes that may be available to our North American operation to reverse what we consider to be a discriminatory, unfair and unjust decision by Delta.