American Airlines has settled its legal argument with Sabre and renewed their distribution agreement. The airline has also agreed with Travelport to extend their existing full content agreements to 31st December 2012 as they attempt to resolve their long-running legal battle and reach a new long-term agreement.
Sabre will make an unspecified “monetary payment” to American, which had sued Sabre claiming that the GDS biased the airline’s flights and increased its booking fees. Sabre had counter-argued that the airline was encouraging travel agencies to bypass the GDS by signing on to a direct-connect solution. American Airlines said that it will continue to pursue 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.
