Expedia Retaliating Against AA

We got a tip this morning from officials at a different travel distribution company that Expedia had "de-preferenced" American Airlines' flights by, in some cases, moving AA to the second screen, requiring an extra click to get fare results and other measures. We contacted officials with American and Expedia this morning, but haven't yet heard back. However, Tnooz got a confirmation from Expedia including a statement that the move represents retaliation for AA's direct connect program and the airline's removal from Orbitz. We noticed that Expedia's action is impacting business class searches, but have not heard whether Expedia's Egencia corporate travel unit is involved. I guess that takes Expedia out of the running as the online travel agency that has a direct connect deal with AA! [more]