Why the American Airlines-Sabre settlement had nothing to do with antitrust
Skift Take
American Airlines looks like the clear winner in its settlement with Sabre as the antitrust issue clearly took a back seat to using the courts to ram through a better deal for the airline.
Now that the redacted settlement papers have been filed with the bankruptcy court, Sabre looks from outward appearances to be the big loser in its protracted dispute with American Airlines. But, Sabre was right all along about one thing: the pitched battle between the airline birth parent and its GDS offspring was never about the antitrust issues that American brought to the fore. It was always about economics, and using the courts to negotiate a better deal for American.
In fact, if the court handling the AMR Corp. bankruptcy case approves the final settlement and related agreements that the two sides are still nego
