In late December, just a week after American Airlines removed its fares from Orbitz, Travelport terminated a developer's agreement it had with Farelogix.
Tnooz reported in 2009 that Sabre, too, had terminated its developer's agreement with Farelogix, but Travelport's move against Farelogix hadn't been widely known until American Airlines discussed it in its April antitrust complaint against Travelport. American Airlines provided further details about the global distribution moves against Farelogix, which handles direct-connects for the airline, when it added Sabre as a defendant in an amended complaint filed June 1.
American Airlines alleges that Travelport terminated a Farelogix developer's agreement Dec. 28, 2010, a week after the airline severed its relationship with Travelport-controlled Orbitz because of Farelogix's role in advancing American Airlines' direct-connect initiative.
"Other software developers have been told that under their agreements with Travelport they are not permitted to work with Farelogix or AA Direct Connect," the airline alleges.
What did the cut-off mean to Farelogix?
"It means that Farelogix can no longer provide any Travelport GDS connectivity through a Farelogix platform for travel agencies even when the agency wants us to and the agency already had a subscriber agreement with Travelport," says Jim Davidson, Farelogix CEO.
Travelport declined to comment on the issue. "We do not, by policy, comment on the specifics of our commercial relationships or pending legal matters," says Travelport spokeswoman Jill Brenner.
American Airlines also provided further detail in its amended complaint about Sabre's termination of a Farelogix developer's agreement in 2009, alleging the action was taken because Farelogix was helping airlines with their direct-connect plans.
The airline noted that without the development agreement with Sabre, which had been in place since 2005, "Farelogix does not have access to the APIs that are needed to allow its software to interoperate with Sabre subscribers' front-, mid- and back-office systems."
In 2009, Sabre spokeswoman Nancy St. Pierre commented about the termination of the Farelogix developer's agreement:
However, as we said earlier this year, the termination of the developer agreement with Farelogix only affected a handful of Sabre subscribers and we have worked hard to ensure their needs have been taken care of. Our action was taken in light of the evolution of the Farelogix business model to one of content fragmentation, and what became clear was an attempt to free ride off of our database and systems. The termination was fully compliant with the terms of the agreement and with any applicable law. Sabre has not told any of its subscribers not to do business with Farelogix.
American alleges that Sabre also ordered Pass Consulting, a Farelogix partner which offers multi-GDS access, to restrict Farelogix's access to Sabre through PASS or risk losing its own developer's agreement with Sabre.
"Other software developers working with Farelogix and American on Direct Connect development have reported similar from Sabre that they are not to work with Farelogix or any other entity that facilitates direct connections," American alleges.
Asked to comment on American's allegations, St. Pierre said: "We are not going to litigate in the media. We will respond to allegations in court."
The airline's allegations are part of antitrust lawsuits against Sabre, Travelport and Orbitz Worldwide.
The U.S. Department of Justice previously delved into the Sabre-Farelogix matter and currently is investigating the GDS antitrust issue.