The latest legal turn for American Airlines has the Illinois
Circuit Court of Cook County ruling that the carrier must reinstate booking
capability on Orbitz "effective immediately" due to a successful
Travelport challenge to a prior ruling in favor of AA.
Wednesday's ruling responds to a Travelport "Motion for
Reconsideration" of the court's Dec. 21 decision that ultimately allowed AA to leave Orbitz.
"This reinstatement of American Airlines full schedule
of flights on Orbitz.com and Orbitz for Business is a win for transparency,
consumer choice and for all of our mutual customers," according to an
Orbitz statement. "Orbitz continues to believe that it is in the best
interests of both companies to work towards a long term agreement to continue
distribution of American Airlines content to our millions of mutual
customers."
AA in a statement said of the court's ruling, "We fundamentally disagree with its conclusion."
In its June 1 ruling, the court conceded that it erred in
previously ruling that Travelport did not have standing in the original court
action "because Travelport is not suing on behalf of Orbitz" and, for
that and other reasons, indicated that it should have issued an injunction in
December against AA's departure from Orbitz. The court admitted it should have
preserved the status quo until the merits of the case were decided.
The decision is a blow to AA just after it released video
spots attacking Orbitz for not offering AA. It's not clear when AA will
reappear on Orbitz.
"As part of its ruling, the court noted that
'Travelport also demonstrated that it had a likelihood of success on the
merits' of its claims against AA," according to a Travelport statement.
—With reporting by Jay Boehmer
Source: The Beat