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AA sues Sabre over GDS interface that’s helping Delta
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 4:51 pm
by apodino
So apparently Delta helped Sabre develop some new interface called NAS. Apparently this incentivized travel agencies to book higher fares on Delta since the incentives are higher than selling similar fares for American. American says this is a breach of contract and has filed a lawsuit to stop it.
https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/American-Airlines-sues-Sabre-over-fare-display?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=FBStories
Re: AA sues Sabre over GDS interface that’s helping Delta
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 5:37 pm
by avier
Hmm...and on a separate issue, Sabre has dragged Air India to court for favouring Amadeus PSS.
https://www.financialexpress.com/indust ... s/2282208/And over here, Sabre itself displays favouritism.
Re: AA sues Sabre over GDS interface that’s helping Delta
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 5:38 pm
by ikramerica
Incentivized to sell higher price tickets to consumers for kickbacks.
Re: AA sues Sabre over GDS interface that’s helping Delta
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 6:21 pm
by ClassicLover
apodino wrote:
Loved the part where it says Sabre didn't consult with AA even though AA is its largest client. Too funny! Where does it say AA has to be consulted?
They're really throwing their toys out of the pram.
Re: AA sues Sabre over GDS interface that’s helping Delta
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 7:56 pm
by YQBexYHZBGM
avier wrote:
It seems Star Alliance carriers (which includes AI) are increasingly selecting Amadeus as their PSS platform. I have no knowledge as to whether Amadeus has been selected as the preferred platform alliance-wide, but there does seem to be a trend.
Re: AA sues Sabre over GDS interface that’s helping Delta
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 8:29 pm
by alasizon
Knowing even just a small percentage of the contract details that AA and others have with Sabre, if confirmed many other airlines will have a similar case. No clue how Sabre thought that would be okay.
Re: AA sues Sabre over GDS interface that’s helping Delta
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 8:48 pm
by usflyer msp
YQBexYHZBGM wrote:avier wrote:
It seems Star Alliance carriers (which includes AI) are increasingly selecting Amadeus as their PSS platform. I have no knowledge as to whether Amadeus has been selected as the preferred platform alliance-wide, but there does seem to be a trend.
SITA Horizon must have really crappy after support. It seems like every major carrier that has chosen it and migrated to a different PSS within a relatively short time frame -- see S7, MH and now AI.
Re: AA sues Sabre over GDS interface that’s helping Delta
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 9:59 pm
by IPFreely
ClassicLover wrote:Loved the part where it says Sabre didn't consult with AA even though AA is its largest client. Too funny! Where does it say AA has to be consulted?
They're really throwing their toys out of the pram.
Is the written contract between AA & Sabre published publicly?
Re: AA sues Sabre over GDS interface that’s helping Delta
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 10:14 pm
by Vicenza
ikramerica wrote:Incentivized to sell higher price tickets to consumers for kickbacks.
To a certain extent, don't business traveller's do essentially the same thing.....by choosing certain airlines in order to maximise benefits and freebies for their own ends?
Re: AA sues Sabre over GDS interface that’s helping Delta
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 11:03 pm
by freakyrat
IPFreely wrote:ClassicLover wrote:Loved the part where it says Sabre didn't consult with AA even though AA is its largest client. Too funny! Where does it say AA has to be consulted?
They're really throwing their toys out of the pram.
Is the written contract between AA & Sabre published publicly?
AA developed Sabre and use to own Sabre.
Re: AA sues Sabre over GDS interface that’s helping Delta
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 11:38 pm
by WkndWanderer
In the Hard Landing book, there is a section about how Bob Crandall used Sabre to prioritize AA flights, even if they were longer or less ideal than a competitors, by having AA’s results display first and require agents to go through 2-3 pages before they found the more ideal flight on another airline. Seems like AA may be getting some long overdue karma from one of its former creations.
Re: AA sues Sabre over GDS interface that’s helping Delta
Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 11:52 pm
by Aliqiout
ClassicLover wrote:apodino wrote:
Loved the part where it says Sabre didn't consult with AA even though AA is its largest client. Too funny! Where does it say AA has to be consulted?
They're really throwing their toys out of the pram.
Do you have the contract?
Re: AA sues Sabre over GDS interface that’s helping Delta
Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 12:46 am
by usxguy
usflyer msp wrote:YQBexYHZBGM wrote:avier wrote:
It seems Star Alliance carriers (which includes AI) are increasingly selecting Amadeus as their PSS platform. I have no knowledge as to whether Amadeus has been selected as the preferred platform alliance-wide, but there does seem to be a trend.
SITA Horizon must have really crappy after support. It seems like every major carrier that has chosen it and migrated to a different PSS within a relatively short time frame -- see S7, MH and now AI.
SITA is out of the PSS business. They told everyone to find a new home last year, and want everyone off it by end of 2021.
Re: AA sues Sabre over GDS interface that’s helping Delta
Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 2:25 am
by IPFreely
freakyrat wrote:IPFreely wrote:ClassicLover wrote:Loved the part where it says Sabre didn't consult with AA even though AA is its largest client. Too funny! Where does it say AA has to be consulted?
They're really throwing their toys out of the pram.
Is the written contract between AA & Sabre published publicly?
AA developed Sabre and use to own Sabre.
Which is 100% irrelevant to the topic of this thread. AA sold Sabre decades ago, it is an independent company. AA is one of it's clients. Whether Sabre has to consult AA about this depends on the contract AA has with Sabre. If you have a copy please let us know.
Re: AA sues Sabre over GDS interface that’s helping Delta
Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 12:41 pm
by RDUDDJI
alasizon wrote:Knowing even just a small percentage of the contract details that AA and others have with Sabre, if confirmed many other airlines will have a similar case. No clue how Sabre thought that would be okay.
Why wouldn’t it be okay? When you go to a car dealer to buy a car they don’t start out showing you the crappiest model they have. They show you one with all the bells and whistles. Why? Because they make more money selling it. Why do companies place their highest markup items where you’re most likely to see them? Why do search engines sell SEO? Why do we have advertisements? It’s Marketing 101.
AA could have done the same thing with SABRE and probably still can. Instead they chose to sue. Seriously, what’s the case here? “DL was smarter than us and struck a advert/promo deal with a company we think owes us favorable placement for less money?” Good luck with that.
This is even more silly than the Flagship lawsuit (that AA quietly settled, and not surprisingly, DL is still using the term, so it’s clear AA failed in that endeavor).
Re: AA sues Sabre over GDS interface that’s helping Delta
Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 12:59 pm
by dfwfanboy
RDUDDJI wrote:alasizon wrote:Knowing even just a small percentage of the contract details that AA and others have with Sabre, if confirmed many other airlines will have a similar case. No clue how Sabre thought that would be okay.
Why wouldn’t it be okay? When you go to a car dealer to buy a car they don’t start out showing you the crappiest model they have. They show you one with all the bells and whistles. Why? Because they make more money selling it. Why do companies place their highest markup items where you’re most likely to see them? Why do search engines sell SEO? Why do we have advertisements? It’s Marketing 101.
AA could have done the same thing with SABRE and probably still can. Instead they chose to sue. Seriously, what’s the case here? “DL was smarter than us and struck a advert/promo deal with a company we think owes us favorable placement for less money?” Good luck with that.
This is even more silly than the Flagship lawsuit (that AA quietly settled, and not surprisingly, DL is still using the term, so it’s clear AA failed in that endeavor).
The case is based on a contract that aa and Sabre only know the details of. If that contract specifies that Sabre can’t purposefully place another airline search results above AA for equivalent hard product, which AA seems to believe it does, then that’s the case. It wouldn’t be the first time AA has won a lawsuit against Sabre in recent memory.
Little silly for everyone on here to be judge, jury, and executioner for either side when none of us have the contract.
Per flagship usage, post settlement Delta now uses the term flagship in the pure historic nautical sense now: their flagship aircraft, the a350. They no longer, that I can see, use it to refer to “flagship product” like they did in several instances cited by AA in the lawsuit where AA has the clear trademark use in aviation to refer to flagship business class or flagship lounge product, etc. Seems it was a true settlement, not a pure win by either side.
Re: AA sues Sabre over GDS interface that’s helping Delta
Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 1:33 pm
by alasizon
RDUDDJI wrote:alasizon wrote:Knowing even just a small percentage of the contract details that AA and others have with Sabre, if confirmed many other airlines will have a similar case. No clue how Sabre thought that would be okay.
Why wouldn’t it be okay? When you go to a car dealer to buy a car they don’t start out showing you the crappiest model they have. They show you one with all the bells and whistles. Why? Because they make more money selling it. Why do companies place their highest markup items where you’re most likely to see them? Why do search engines sell SEO? Why do we have advertisements? It’s Marketing 101.
AA could have done the same thing with SABRE and probably still can. Instead they chose to sue. Seriously, what’s the case here? “DL was smarter than us and struck a advert/promo deal with a company we think owes us favorable placement for less money?” Good luck with that.
This is even more silly than the Flagship lawsuit (that AA quietly settled, and not surprisingly, DL is still using the term, so it’s clear AA failed in that endeavor).
The issue is with the booking incentives that are reportedly being offered for booking DL fares, not so much DL being shown first. From what I'm understanding there are parity clauses in the contract that prevent increased incentives on equal fare types.
Re: AA sues Sabre over GDS interface that’s helping Delta
Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2021 11:42 am
by atcsundevil
Keep the thread on topic.
✈️ atcsundevil