Sabre Travel Network moved against American Airlines by
altering GDS fare displays and informing the carrier of plans to prematurely
end its global distribution agreement, according to a customer letter sent
today by STN senior vice president Chris Kroeger.
Citing AA's efforts to push agencies to a direct-connect program that bypasses global distribution systems, Kroeger wrote that "we
have made changes in the Sabre system that alter the order in which some of
American Airlines' flights appear in availability and shopping displays."
The two parties in September 2006 announced a five-year deal distribution deal. Kroeger told subscribers that Sabre informed AA it would
eliminate "the substantial price discounts AA has enjoyed consistent with
its prior long-term commitments to provide full content" and that it
"provided AA notice that accelerates the termination date of our current
agreement to the extent possible, culminating in early August."
Sabre, Kroeger added, is "seeking a new agreement with
AA that provides our customers long-term assurances of efficient comparison
shopping."
AA in a statement released Tuesday said Sabre's actions, "which include biasing its shopping displays, are anti-consumer,
anti-competitive and harmful to its subscribing agents. Sabre's actions are discriminatory and patently inconsistent with both
its contractual obligations and its professed goal of ensuring full
transparency for the benefit of consumers and travel agents. In
contrast, the actions only serve to protect Sabre's market position and
attempt to force airlines and travel agencies to rely exclusively on its
legacy systems that only lead to higher fares and fewer choices for
consumers."
AA also has ongoing disputes with Expedia, which on Jan. 1 removed American Airlines' fares from its site, Travelport and Orbitz, for which AA
rescinded ticketing authority.