Articles tagged “antitrust”

We read the 100-page rulings on the proposed merger of Sabre and Farelogix so you don't have to. Airlines want to take over a lot of the tech work from Sabre and its rivals and pay travel agencies directly for bookings. American Airlines says the new model has already saved it millions. But the rulings found few tech vendors up to the task.

Sabre's arguments that UK regulators would merely fall in line if a U.S. court backed Sabre's merger with Farelogix were naive. The UK ruling was essentially correct about the proposed deal stifling innovation, and somewhere airlines are quietly celebrating the ruling.

Sabre and Farelogix paid $20 million in lawyers' fees in 2019 to respond to U.S. government reviews of their proposed merger and to defend against antitrust proceedings. Is there an antitrust case to be had against Big Law?

The European single market is a sacred thing and anyone caught trying to divide it up like the old days is liable to be on the receiving end of a punishment. In this case, Meliá's cooperation with the investigation has helped cut its fine.

Google is bending somewhat to intense regulatory pressure in Europe. But its answers in travel to date aren't very meaningful.

A federal judge heard closing arguments in the U.S. government's antitrust suit to block Sabre's acquisition of Farelogix. Inside the courtroom, Judge Leonard Stark's comments didn't show his hand. The case seems a close call.

Online travel companies have faced intense regulatory scrutiny almost since the first days of internet bookings. But "you've got mail" these days is less likely to be a cheery email notification than a demand for court appearances and audits.

It's notable that we had a much easier time finding experts who supported Sabre's proposed merger of Farelogix than opponents. But this court case will be decided on legal nuances, and its outcome is impossible to predict. We pity the judge who has to endure this crash course in airline technology and distribution.

MakeMyTrip definitely faces some near-term challenges, but it doesn't consider a recently announced regulatory probe in India to be one of them.

A federal appeals court has asked for a partial do-over in antitrust litigation between US Airways and travel tech firm Sabre. After more than eight years and millions of dollars in expenses, the case has partly been reset to square one. Remarkable.