Expedia website.

The online travel service Expedia on Friday was denied a motion to keep United Airlines from cutting off booking and flight information after September 2019 in a contract battle that could sever the relationship between the companies.

U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel of the Southern District of New York denied the injunction request, which would have prevented the airline from removing its information after the Sept. 30 contract expiration date.

The injunction would have eased the threat Expedia claims it faces should United be allowed to follow through with its plans to end the contract and eliminate now any possibility of having flights past that point available on Expedia's site.

In denying the injunction request, Castel found that most of Expedia's reasons were expressions of the reality they would ultimately face should the contract simply expire, which failed to give rise to the grave need for the court stepping in.

“The parties contracted for a fixed term and did not include provisions discussing customer service of tickets purchased through Expedia after the expiration of the Agreement,” Castel wrote. “Such 'self-inflicted' harms are not considered irreparable.”

According to court filings, the two companies have been under the current contract since 2011, which was amended twice and set to expire Sept. 30. United allows customers to book flights months in advance of departure, which Expedia was granted access as part of the contract.

Expedia claims United breached this contract after the airline sought to renegotiate in October 2018, threatening to curtail Expedia's ability to sell United flights in 2019 if it didn't agree. Negotiations broke down, and United stood firm in February with its plan to cut off access to future flight information beyond the contract deadline.

Despite the court finding that Expedia has demonstrated a probability of success on the merits, based on United's obligations under the contract, Castel nonetheless found the online company had not show the potential for irreparable harm.

The judge noted that, absent an injunction, United would “immediately … cease” providing Expedia with flight schedule information after Sept. 30. The company was sure to suffer monetary loss, but that could potentially be rectified in the future through

As to reputational harm, Expedia is likely to face whatever harm there will be as a result of the agreed-upon contract ending. No evidence showed the company would suffer a material different outcome if the injunction wasn't provided, the court found.

“To the extent Expedia alleges that customer confusion and delay in customer service resulting in loss of goodwill are the irreparable reputational injuries it faces, such injuries are not cured by injunctive relief,” Castel wrote.

Expedia is represented in the litigation by a team led by Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman partner Christopher Colorado. He declined to comment, deferring to spokespeople at the company.

In a statement sent by a spokesman, the company expressed disappointment at the decision but said it was pleased the court appeared to recognize that United's threatened actions would breach the contract.

Kirkland & Ellis partner Atif Khawaja led United's legal efforts. He, too, deferred comment to a spokeswoman, who provided a statement from the company that welcomed Castel's ruling.

The decision “will minimize the risk of disrupting our customers' travel plans and ensure we can effectively serve customers who need to make changes to their itineraries purchased through Expedia,” the company said in its statement.

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