What Sabre's Antitrust Trial Says About the Future of Distribution


Skift Take

As Sabre fights to acquire Farelogix, it's important to examine exactly why intermediaries are beginning to scoop up the companies built to disintermediate them.

Big-time drama in corporate travel! This week we have a missive from Senior Travel Tech Editor Sean O'Neill, who headed down to scenic Delaware to enjoy the closing arguments in the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit aimed at Sabre's pending merger with Farelogix. The DOJ argued that the move would reduce competition in the space, since GDS bypass services from Farelogix pose a competitive threat to traditional global distribution systems. Sabre's lawyers proposed, instead, that the services offered by Farelogix would become just another product like anything else the distribution giant offers. They are a shelf in a store offering products, not a store themselves competing against mom-and-pop Farelogix next door. Anyone who follows the industry knows that disintermediation remains a major threat to the future prospects of not jus