American Ups Ante In Dispute
American Airlines escalated its dispute with some of its key ticket sellers, suing Travelport LP and Orbitz Worldwide Inc. for damages and seeking a permanent injunction against alleged anticompetitive practices.
The suit, filed Monday, is the latest move in a protracted battle between American Air parent AMR Corp., online travel agencies and the electronic ticket sellers known as global distribution systems, or GDS.
AMR removed its flights from Orbitz at the end of last year as part of a broader dispute with Travelport, a private equity-controlled company that owns the second-largest U.S. online travel agent as well as three GDS operations.
