Talks aimed at resolving the dispute between American Airlines and Travelport have broken down, leading the carrier to file an anti-trust lawsuit against the GDS-owner and its affiliated online agent Orbitz in Texas yesterday.
Travelport immediately dismissed the lawsuit as “ludicrous and without merit”.
American and Travelport have been locked in a battle over distribution, with the carrier attempting to drive bookings via its own Direct Connect channel.
Travelport owns global distribution systems (GDSs) Worldspan and Galileo.
The pair sued one another for breach of contract at the end of last year, but it appeared until yesterday they were moving towards a resolution.
American filed its suit in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, claiming Travelport has “engaged in anti-competitive conduct to protect its market position from competition by alternative technologies”.
The airline claims that “illegal actions of Travelport and Orbitz have harmed consumers by suppressing innovation that would be beneficial to airline passengers”. American is seeking an injunction and damages.
In a statement, it said the lawsuit followed “extensive discussions to resolve a dispute over distribution of fares and schedules”.
Travelport promised to “vigorously defend” itself against the charges. In a statement, the company said: “AA’s antitrust complaint contains significant factual accuracies . . . [and] disparaging comments about Travelport’s technology.
“In unsuccessful negotiations and now in litigation, AA seeks to limit consumer choice in shopping for fares and to limit consumer access to other relevant data. Travelport believes this lawsuit is another attempt by AA to gain bargaining leverage through litigation.”
The company said it would “take all appropriate legal action.”