AA-Travelport Let Full-Content Pact Expire, as Dispute Drags On

American Airlines and Travelport allowed their full-content agreement to expire on Jan. 15.

For Apollo and Worldspan subscribers that means Travelport will no longer collect Content Continuity Program or Super Access Product fees for American bookings until further notice.

Access to AA content
In an email to travel agencies on Tuesday, Travelport said that although it can no longer guarantee access to American’s full content, “we believe American intends to continue providing you with uninterrupted access to its content for display and sale through the Travelport GDSs while we continue to work towards a new agreement.”

American confirmed that it will continue to provide full content to Travelport, “so long as American is not disadvantaged by Travelport, and Travelport displays American’s content in a fair and neutral manner.”

American also said that at this point it will not impose its $5.50 “source premium” for each booking made through a Travelport GDS.

Nearing a deal . . .
The stay of American’s antitrust lawsuit against Travelport also expired on Jan. 15. The proceedings have been stayed twice to allow the parties to negotiate without distraction.

In recent weeks, the two companies appeared to be close to a deal after undergoing a second round of mediation in mid-December.

Earlier this month, they issued a joint statement saying, “We believe we can reach a new deal soon.”

. . . but not yet
But in its latest email to agents, Travelport said, “We have both committed to working towards a new long-term deal but, as of today, we have not been able to come to an agreement that Travelport believes will work for and serve the interests of all parties.”

The content agreement has been extended several times throughout the long dispute. Travelport did not elaborate on why it was not extended this time.

It does not appear that the two sides are seeking a third stay of their lawsuit.

What happens next
If they do not request another stay or reach an agreement, Travelport has until Feb. 5 to answer American’s second amended complaint, and both parties must respond to all pending written discovery by that date.

All depositions must be completed by Feb. 20, and pretrial motions are due by April 16.

Possible sticking point
It is not clear what the sticking point is in the negotiations for a settlement.

A known bone of contention going into the lawsuit was American’s desire for the same type of agreement that Southwest has with Travelport.

In November 2010, Southwest agreed to connect with Travelport agencies via the Travelport Universal API, providing them with a greater level of access and functionality, such as live availability.

In its lawsuit, American said that when it asked for a similar arrangement, Travelport replied that “American helped create the GDS beast and should continue to live with it.”

But the issue of a Southwest-style agreement may have been laid to rest, given the parties’ repeated assertions that they are close to a settlement.