JetBlue has announced that it is removing its schedule fares from 11 online travel booking sites. It is following in the footsteps of Southwest, who has kept its flights off online travel sites in order to increase its bottom line. This is a move any airlines have begun to explore. When airlines post their flights on travel sites, those sites only show the cheapest seats on those flights. Airlines lose money because online travel sites don’t show additional information about upgrades for more leg room and other inflight amenities. On top of that, when flights are booked through third parties, the airline pays the commission on those flights, which can go up to 10% of the flight cost.

Now airlines like JetBlue are starting to pull away from online travel sites, and are pushing customers to use their own site. This way airlines can promote upgrades and bundle travel packages themselves, and save money by not having to pay third parties for a service they themselves can easily provide. More airlines may follow as well, a move like this would be a big shake up for the airline industry. However, if airlines start to save money by removing themselves from third party travel sites, customers may be in for a treat with lower flight costs in the future. This might be a continuing trend for the airline industry and every business can take note of JetBlue’s changes, don’t let someone else do something that you can do yourself.