American Airlines GDS row heats up
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The row between American Airlines and the travel technology industry has entered a new phase after AA added Sabre to the anti-trust lawsuit originally filed against Travelport. The amended lawsuit, filed in Texas two months ago, claims that Sabre is involved in anti-competitive business practices. In a counter action however, Sabre has now filed an anti-trust claim against AA, claiming the carrier is attempting to “gain a monopoly position in air booking services” for flights between the US and the Caribbean. The GDS company claims that AA is unlawfully forcing travel companies to use its new Direct Connect product. “Our preference was to extend the current legal ‘stand down,'” said Chris Kroeger, SVP of Sabre Travel Network. “However it is apparent based on AA’s actions that Sabre has no choice but to pursue legal remedies.” To increase the pressure on American, Travelport said today that it has won an injunction against the carrier. A court in the US has overturned a previous ruling which allowed AA to terminate its contracts with Orbitz. As a result, Orbitz will now resume displaying and ticketing the airline’s flights. “We view this as a significant ruling,” said Kurt Ekert, chief commercial officer at Travelport.
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