Wednesday, October 31, 2012

American Airlines, Sabre Settle Technology Dispute

The dispute between American Airlines and global travel distribution provider Sabre Holdings has been settled by the two firms, they said this morning. The two--who had been tussling in the courts since June of last year--said they have settled their disputes, and have renewed their current distribution agreement for multiple years. The two said that American will receive a monetary payment from Sabre. American will continue pursuing its direct connect initiative. Sabre had filed an antitrust claim against American for trying to force airlines to adopt its "direct connect" system, which bypassed GDS services like Sabre. The fight between the providers started earlier in 2011, and involved listings on Orbitz and Expedia, after American tried to force those sites to use its own system--rather than those from Sabre.