Thomas Cook says a recently signed partnership with Expedia is not the motivation behind a decision scrap its policy of allowing offline retail agents to compete with offers online.
The discovery last week that Expedia is powering Cook's online dynamic packaging capability led some to ask if this is one of the reasons behind the curtailment of the web match programme.
Under the old scheme, UK agents were able to secure a lower level of commission in return for matching the discounted online price for customers.
Given that pricing for dynamic packaging content on the Thomas Cook website is now out of the company's hands, some suspected the operator was no longer able to offer the service if Expedia discounted heavily and at a different rate to what Cook's was able to work with through the matching scheme.
Although a Thomas Cook official says the two developments are not linked, axing the web matching programme has angered agents once again, leaving some to argue that the operator is attempting to muscle out small, independent outlets.
Meanwhile, with Thomas Cook remaining relatively tight-lipped about the Expedia deal, questions now turn to how long the partnership is scheduled to run.
The deal could be a short-term technology fix (at the expense of "owning" the customer) until an in-house system is put in play - but, conversely, might be part of a wider strategy to outsource some of its web-based functionality.