Friday, 12 August 2011 at 12:21, Bloomberg
US Airways claims Sabre engaged in a pattern of exclusionary conduct to protect its monopoly pricing power. (REUTERS)
Sabre Holdings Corp, embroiled in a dispute with airlines over fare and flight data distributed to travel agents, reinstated its request to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit brought by US Airways Group Inc.
The complaint fails to identify any illegal anticompetitive acts, Sabre said in a filing today in federal court in Manhattan. It called the suit, filed in April, “US Airways’ attempt to renegotiate the three-year contract” under which Sabre distributes the airline’s fares and schedules to travel agents.
Sabre, based in Southlake, Texas, on June 30 asked a Manhattan judge to dismiss the case. Sabre later withdrew the request as part of an agreement between the parties, which called for Sabre to resubmit it today. US Airways is due to respond to the motion on Saturday.
US Airways’ antitrust suit against Sabre, the largest so- called global distribution system based in the US, followed a complaint filed by AMR Corp’s American Airlines in Texas state court in January as the carriers seek more control over dissemination and sale of their products.
More than 35 per cent of US Airways’ annual revenue is booked through Sabre or Sabre-affiliated travel agents, the Tempe, Arizona-based airline said in April. Sabre collects and shares flight data, and owns the travel website Travelocity.com.
In its suit, US Airways claimed that Sabre “engaged in a pattern of exclusionary conduct to shut out competition, protect its monopoly pricing power and maintain its technologically obsolete business model.”
US Airways rose 16 cents, or 3 per cent, to $5.48 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
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