Sabre has notified American Airlines that it intends to terminate their contract a month early, in August, and immediately began biasing the airline’s flights in availability and shopping displays.
The actions impact points of sale globally, with the exceptions of the European Union and Canada because of regulations in those markets which bar such an action, Sabre says.
The Sabre-American contract was to expire in September and would terminate instead in early August 2011.
Essentially because of Sabre’s actions today and Travelport’s initiatives Dec. 20, American Airlines finds its flights virtually out — or biased down into the netherworld of availability and shopping displays — of a good chunk of the global GDS market.
Sabre has de-preferenced American flights globally except for Canada and Europe, and Travelport took a similar action globally, with the exception of the U.S.
Amadeus, which operates a major global GDS, has yet to take such actions.
Read the full story at:http://www.tnooz.com/2011/01/05/news/sabre-hits-american-airlines-as-distribution-war-escalates/
