Fort Worth-based American Airlines said Friday that it received a "civil investigative demand" requesting information about actions taken by the global distribution systems, termed GDSs, including Southlake-based Sabre Holdings and Travelport, which owns Orbitz.
Delta Air Lines and US Airways Group also confirmed Friday that they also received requests from the Justice Department, Bloomberg News reported.
American said the government's request "states that the Department of Justice is investigating whether conduct by the global distribution systems violated the U.S. antitrust laws. American welcomes this investigation by the Department of Justice and intends to cooperate fully."
The Justice Department confirmed that it is investigating anti-competitive practices in the GDS industry but declined to comment further.
At issue are the fees American and other airlines pay the big travel reservation systems to display flights and make bookings. American wants more of its travel partners, such as travel agencies and websites, to connect directly to American's own reservations system, which would save the airline booking fees.
Since last fall, American has been involved in several lawsuits with Sabre and Travelport. The legal action led American to pull its fares from Travelport's Orbitz site. Last month, American filed a federal antitrust complaint against Travelport in federal court in the Northern District of Texas.
Sabre made it more difficult for travel agents to find American's airfares in its listings in January, which also sparked legal action by American. Since then, Sabre and American have temporarily suspended litigation until June 1 as they try to work out a new agreement.
Sabre said Friday that it has been contacted by the Justice Department and believes that other companies have been contacted as well.
"We are cooperating fully," Sabre spokeswoman Nancy St. Pierre said.
US Airways has also sued Sabre for alleged antitrust violations, according to Bloomberg News. Todd Lehmacher, a spokesman for the Arizona-based airline, declined to comment on the federal investigation.(source : star-telegram.com)
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