American Airlines issued a statement explaining that the
U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether global distribution systems
have violated antitrust laws. AA said it "intends to cooperate fully"
with a request from DOJ's Antitrust Division to "provide information
relevant to that investigation."
This is the latest of several investigations, court cases
and federal rulemakings that spotlight GDS competition. In October 2009, DOJ
reportedly sought information from Farelogix customers about the company's
allegations that Sabre Holdings engaged in anticompetitive practices when it
canceled its developer agreement with Farelogix.
More recently, AA has filed suit against Travelport for
alleged antirust violations, US Airways has done likewise against Sabre and the
U.S. Department of Transportation deferred a decision on whether to require
airlines to make optional services fee data available through GDS—partly
because it "wants to ensure that any action it takes does not have
unintended consequences, particularly given the sensitive nature of the market
and the negotiations currently taking place between carriers and the GDSs."
Source: Management.travel