In addition to using the display bias card, American Airlines now alleges that Sabre "organized an unlawful group boycott against American."
Sabre isn't having any of this.
"Sabre denies the allegations and this is yet another example of American Airlines distorting the facts and trying to use the courts to negotiate a new contract," says Nancy St. Pierre, a Sabre spokeswoman. "We remain willing and committed to negotiating a new distribution agrement that meets the needs of all constituents whenver the airline is ready."
American Airlines' allegations about a Sabre-led attempted boycott of the airline is part of its fifth amended complain in its state antitrust case against Sabre in Texas.
The veracity -- or lack thereof -- of American Airlines' latest charges cannot be vetted because the relevant parts of the court filing are redacted -- i.e. there is a black line going through them.
There are no details provided about who Sabre allegedly tried to enlist in a boycott or whether they signed on and took action.
In theory, any boycott likely would have involved travel management companies, who might have been urged to book airlines other than American for their clients.
It is believed that American Airlines, during the discovery process, came across Sabre communications, including emails, which the airline interpreted as meaning that Sabre was urging TMCs to boycott the airline.
Ryan Mikolasik, a spokesman for American Airlines, states: "As outlined in our complaint, Sabre has been engaged in a long-running, multifaceted campaign of anticompetitive conduct designed to prevent competitive options to Sabre's GDS business, including aggressively organizing and monitoring a boycott of American's services and flights."
Mikolasik declined to provide specifics about the boycott allegations.
In the latest court filing, American Airlines indicates that Sabre's efforts impacted sales.
"But for Sabre's tortious and unlawful conduct, there is reasonable probability that American and Sabre's Travel Agency Subscribers and Corporate Customers would have booked additional travel on American resulting in increased sales of American tickets," the airline alleges.
Sabre and American are negotiating a new distribution agreement and the two sides have agreed to extend the existing agreement until there has been a court decision in the antitrust case in Texas.