Haute Couture, Tiffany Diamonds...American Airlines Seat 23D from DFW-ORD?

Here we go...after years of saying they were going to do it, they are going to do it.

American Airlines is going high fashion.

Perhaps you're wondering if the Travel Barista has had a few too many shots of espresso today, but bear with me.

There is a very clear-cut strategy that high fashion, luxury labels and cache brands use to give their products an air of exclusivity that you can't find in the department store brands. And that strategy is that you can't get them in the department stores.

You want a real Tiffany cut diamond engagement ring in the famous blue box? Only a Tiffany store itself can give it to you. Looking for that Oscar red-carpet look that will allow you to say "it's a Vera Wang?" Better visit one of her stores. Want a complete set of customised steamer trunks like they used to use to travel the world on ocean liners? Head down to your local Louis Vuitton shop. (Ok, perhaps a back alley in Shanghai...)

So what does all this have to do with American Airlines? Simple - they are, in essence, taking their product out of the department store and opening up their own, exclusive, hard to get to, boutique.

Read all about it: http://www.eyefortravel.com/news/airlines/american-airlines-takes-gds-charges-new-distribution-model

Long story short is that American has had enough of giving distribution channels like the GDS's, corporate travel management companies, and online travel agencies (and soon I'm sure good old fashioned shop-front retail travel agencies) a chance to make a bit of profit by selling American Airlines seats. So they're going to only sell direct. Maison d'American Airlines, anyone?

In essence, by only allowing their product to be sold directly via their own channel, takes them out of the shopping marketplace and distribution network that long has served them and other airlines well and will ask the buyers to come find them. It's Fifth Avenue or Bond Street as opposed to Bloomingdale's or Selfridges.

For those travel managers out there who perhaps find the product that American offers is indeed worth the premium it will now take to be able to book, ticket, track, manage and report on flights bought on American, then perhaps this will be a good strategy. After all, making something hard to get can often make it quite irresistible.

But my money's on the fact that most travel maangers are more like power shoppers, who'd rather comb the Saturday newspapers trying to figure out which store is having which sale on the most choices of stuff available rather than having to make a separate trip to a boutique to buy only one type of outfit.

So...could we soon see American Airlines be up there with the Jimmy Choo's or Hermes of the world? Sounds a bit pretentious, doesn't it?