First it was Aug. 31, then Sept. 6 and now Sabre says its contract with American Airlines has been extended until the end of September.
Chris Kroeger, Sabre’s senior vice president, marketing, sent the following email to customers yesterday:
Previously we communicated that Sabre agreed to extend our current distribution agreement with American Airlines through September 6, 2011, due to ongoing litigation initiated by the airline. Based on a change in the timeline related to that litigation, Sabre has now agreed to extend our distribution agreement with American Airlines until the end of September.
What remains unchanged is our commitment to securing a new agreement with AA that meets the needs of all constituents. We will continue to keep you informed.
Sabre spokeswoman Nancy St. Pierre says the company is taking no commercial actions against American Airlines in the interim.
And, in a letter to agencies and corporate customers Aug. 23, Derek DeCross, American Airlines’ vice president of global sales, that Sabre has “agreed t0 take no action against” the airline until Oct. 1 Â because of a delay in court proceedings.
DeCross writes:
In the meantime, you can expect to have continuous access to American’s full content in Sabre. American remains committed to providing you with access to its full content in Sabre even beyond October 1, should Sabre decide to make it available to you while American and Sabre work toward a revised agreement. Whether by cooperation from Sabre or court injunction, we expect that your access to our full content in Sabre will be uninterrupted.
Late last month Travelport and American Airlines extended their global distribution system participation agreement into 2012.
American and the GDSs are stalemated over distribution economics and direct-connect technology.
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