The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) commended American Airlines' and Sabre’s agreement to suspend current litigation regarding the terms of their airfare distribution agreement, set to expire in September 2011, while work is done to reach a new agreement. American Airlines and Sabre have agreed to operate as they had been prior to when the conflict began.
"Today’s announcement from American Airlines and Sabre represents a positive step toward productive discussions to resolve this dispute," said Mike McCormick, executive director and COO of NBTA. "Ultimately, business travel buyers would foot the bill for marketplace fragmentation, so we’re pleased to see their voice is being considered and that American Airlines and Sabre are working together to find an approach that will work for everyone: business travel buyers and travelers, airlines, GDSs, and consumers.
“NBTA will redouble its efforts in the coming months to ensure that business travel buyers are heard as we continue to push for greater transparency, access and competition in the travel distribution marketplace. We will also work to explore these issues further at our upcoming Masters Program and across our membership networking platforms."
The NBTA numbers more than 5,000 in 30 nations, are corporate and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers. They collectively manage and direct more than $340 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually on behalf of more than 13 million business travelers.
Visit www.nbta.org.