Amadeus hits back in dispute with Air Astana
Amadeus has hit back in a row with Air Astana, which this week saw the Kazakhstan carrier accuse the GDS of illegal action in terminating its agreement to provide the airline with distribution services.
Air Astana said it was seeking “injunctive relief†from courts in Spain to require Amadeus GDS to reconnect its services whilst a dispute over contract terms goes to arbitration.
Air Astana said in a statement that it has been renegotiating all GDS contracts with suppliers: Abacus, Travelport, Sirena the Russian GDS, and Amadeus under the umbrella of a Supplier Purchasing Quality programme called the Competitive Booking Source Programme.
“Its objective is to ensure that Air Astana receives the best value for money from its distribution partners. Those GDSs that offer Air Astana a good product, fair contractual terms and competitive prices are rewarded with a designation as a Competitive Booking Source (CBS),†said the airline.
“And as a CBS, a GDS would win for its subscribers the right to receive full commissions for the sale of Air Astana’s domestic fares,†the statement continued.
Amadeus countered that it believes that Air Astana’s Competitive Booking Source Program (CBSP) discriminates Amadeus subscribers “and hence constitutes an illicit action, expressly prohibited in the distribution contract between Amadeus and Air Astana, as Amadeus has made clear since July 2010â€.
The Amadeus statement continued, “Air Astana has ignored repeated warnings from Amadeus that it would not tolerate this contractual infringement. Even when the CBSP became operative, Amadeus invited Air Astana to correct in 15 days.
“Air Astana chose to maintain the CBSP in operation and hence to maintain the penalty on Amadeus customers. Those actions forced Amadeus to interrupt its distribution services to Air Astana.
“Amadeus reiterates its intention to seek damages from Air Astana, whose actions have created unjustified commercial damage to Amadeus and its customers.â€
Ian Jarrett
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