Tickets from American Airlines are returning to Orbitz after a US court overturned a previous ruling which failed to block the disappearance of the airline's fares on the online travel agency in late 2010.
The Circuit Court of Cook County in Illinois said an injunction should have been granted against American Airlines in December to prevent it from terminating its contracts with the online travel agency.
The decision effectively puts the airline tickets back on Orbitz and Orbitz for Business almost immediately.
Barring further legal action by American Airlines, it is possible that American Airlines' flights will be available on Orbitz for at least several months as Travelport attempts to negotiate a new participation agreement with Orbitz.
It is considered unlikely that Travelport, which controls its largest customer, Orbitz, would conclude a GDS agreement with American Airlines without protecting Orbitz.
The ruling may also lead to a few red faces at American Airlines, with the decision coming just a day after it touted a new video poking fun at Orbitz for not having the airline's fares on the site. The video has already been removed from YouTube.
An Orbitz official characterised the ruling as "a win for transparency, for consumer choice, and for our millions of our mutual customer".
"Orbitz continues to believe that it is in the best interests of both companies to work towards a long term agreement to continue distribution of American Airlines content to our millions of mutual customers.
Travelport chief commercial officer, Kurt Ekert, claims the decision is a "significant ruling".
American Airlines, in a statement, says it "fundamentally disagrees" with the court's decision.
"We want to underscore that this is the exact opposite conclusion than that of the judge who heard the evidence. We are evaluating our options, but in the meantime, we will, of course, comply with the judge’s order."
The latest turn in the Travelport-AA courtroom marathon ends a heady day of legal shenanigans in the US, with Sabre filing an antitrust claim against American Airlines in the existing Travelport antitrust suit at a court in Fort Worth, Texas.
American Airlines hit back within the hour by then adding Sabre to the Travelport antitrust case.