With American Airlines and HP having just signed a contract for HP to build a new reservations system, called Jetstream, for the airline, it now turns out that American has an exit clause in the event it gets cold feet about the massive project, according to a source.
The airline apparently can walk away from the deal 90 to 120 days — the source wasn’t sure which — after the contract signing.
The thinking is that the out clause gives American further time to evaluate whether HP, a technology company with little airline experience, is up to the task of building the airline a new passenger services system.
HP acquired EDS in August 2008 for $13.9 billion.
EDS has tons of airline-reservations system experience, but apparently downsizing and restructuring at HP over the last year means that several key people involved in developing Jetstream — the reservations system doesn’t actually exist yet — have either been reassigned, fired or have otherwise left the company, the source says.
American and HP took their time in transitioning from a letter of intent, signed in August 2009, to the recently signed contract, and the exit clause in the new agreement is another signal that the path to a new reservations system, which would replace Sabre as American’s longtime host-system provider, is not set in stone.
[...] Tnooz also reported at the time that American had an option to walk away from the contract within 90 or 120 days from the contact’s signing. [...]