Tauck has resumed sales of American Airlines and its Oneworld alliance partners after the airline temporarily lifted a policy that hindered tour operators from offering refundable fares.
The company said that American and Oneworld have extended the refundability of fares booked through Tauck, and all tour operators, until Dec. 31, 2024 -- so the move is temporary, for now.
"This reversal of their previous policy is certainly welcome, and in response, we're once again offering flights on AA and Oneworld alliance partners to our guests," said Steve Spivak, Tauck's vice president of global sales and reservations. "It should be noted that while this is welcome news, it has been communicated as temporary.
"We will continue to monitor to ensure that the policies that are ultimately adopted will allow us to provide the very best service, value and flexibility to our guests."
On May 13, American Airlines introduced tighter restrictions on cancellations and rebookings by tour operators and cruise lines. Those restrictions included a $50 fee for all cancellations made 24 hours after booking and limiting suppliers to just one free churn per passenger name record (PNR) before a $50 fee was charged per each change made after that, with a maximum of four charged churns per PNR.
American's move to temporarily halt the policy comes amid the airline's backtracking from a distribution strategy focused on direct and NDC bookings. That strategy alienated travel advisors and corporate customers, hurting American's bottom line.