US AIRWAYS WINS ANTITRUST TRIAL BUT RECEIVES ONLY $1 IN DAMAGES
June 6, 2022
On May 19, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found in favor of plaintiff, US Airways in an 11-year-old Sherman Act suit against Sabre Holdings Corp. (“Sabre”) a Texas based company that operates an electronic network used by travel agents to search for and book flights listed by airlines. Prior to merging with American Airlines in 2013, US Airways accused Sabre of unlawfully maintaining monopoly power by forcing restrictive “full content” contracts onto “nearly every major airline” during the early 2000s in violation of § 2 of the Sherman Act and engaging in other anticompetitive conduct.
US Airways accused Sabre of threatening to block it from service or impose hefty fines on the carrier unless it agreed to sign a contract in 2011 that would bar the carrier from selling directly to corporate customers or sharing business with upstart booking platforms. US Airways was seeking $300 million in damages. In response, Sabre argued that US Airways readily agreed to the 2011 contract deal, making the concessions in exchange for receiving better prices. Ultimately the Court found that Sabre did purposefully engage in anticompetitive activities by forcing out other entities in the business travel industry but found that US Airways was only entitled to $1 in damages as a lack of evidence was provided to prove that Sabre unreasonably restrained trade through the 2011 contract.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6665).
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