American settles with Sabre and extends truce with Travelport

American Airlines and Travelport have agreed to extend their existing full content agreements to the end of the year as they attempt to resolve a long-running legal battle.

In a joint statement issued this morning, American and Travelport, which owns the Worldspan, Galileo and Apollo global distributions systems, said they were hoping to reach a new long-term agreement but in the meantime the existing arrangement would no longer expire until December 31.

The announcement came just hours after American Airlines settled a separate legal battle with rival GDS Sabre, which resulted in the two renewing their current distribution agreement for multiple years.

As part of the settlement, Sabre will make a 'monetary payment' to the airline, although the amount has not been specified.

American had sued Sabre, claiming the GDS biased the airline's flights and increased its booking fees.

While Sabre argued that the airline was encouraging travel agencies to bypass the GDS by signing on to a direct-connect solution.

American Airlines said it will continue pursuing its direct-connect initiative.

The settlement between the two companies requires approval from the judge presiding over American Airlines parent AMR Corporation's restructuring procedures.

Thursday, November 1, 2012