A lawyer for American Airlines Group Inc. urged a jury to award the carrier almost $300m in overcharges and lost profits, arguing that Sabre Holdings Corp. illegally dominated the market for booking airline tickets. “There’s one company in this travel business that doesn’t compete,” Paul Yetter told the jurors at the end of a three-week federal trial in Manhattan. “And it’s Sabre.” Yetter told the panel that Sabre protected its monopoly position by locking up travel agents, tying up the airlines and killing off new competition. American claims it is owed $299.3m on behalf of US Airways Group Inc., with which it merged in 2013. If it succeeds, it could collect almost $900m under US antitrust laws, which provide for triple damages. “The benefits that they’ve gotten from that economic power is high prices, extraordinary profits, and that’s harmed US Airways,” Yetter said. US Airways sued Sabre in 2011 claiming it charged inflated fees for its computerized reservation services. It alleged that a contract it signed with Sabre illegally reduced competition. It says no competitor in more than 30 years has entered the market to provide a computerized platform to connect airlines and other travel companies to travel agents. Sabre says it acted lawfully and fairly in a competitive marketplace. “My client’s being sued for a lot of money,” Patrick Fitzgerald, a lawyer for Sabre, told the jury when it was time for his own closing argument. “People want to take it to the cleaners for a contract that was freely negotiated and performed.” Fitzgerald told the jurors American had failed to show that Sabre monopolized the market, and that prices went down during the period covered by the suit. He said US Airways hadn’t suffered any antitrust injury.<br/>
oneworld
Wanted: Hundreds of people to sit in a plane for 20 hours. Must be willing to pay lots of money. Claustrophobes needn’t apply. Conceived prior to the Covid crisis, Qantas Airways’ plan to operate the world’s longest nonstop commercial flights from southeast Australia to New York and London is being resurrected in a much-changed aviation landscape, with global carriers reeling from the pandemic and people wary about travel. Qantas, which lost over A$22b ($15b) in revenue due to virus-related border curbs, is banking on passengers being willing to pay a premium to avoid layovers and get gargantuan journeys over and done with in one go. But some regular fliers are balking at potentially paying 30% extra for a direct flight compared with a two-leg journey. While fares may differ by the time the flights start, a return nonstop Sydney-New York business class ticket could cost more than A$18,000 -- enough to buy a new compact car -- based on October flights listed on Kayak for the same route with a stop in Los Angeles. And not everyone is ready to spend almost an entire day and night on a plane, especially in economy class. The “Project Sunrise” flights, which Qantas now plans to start in 2025 after the pandemic delayed their 2023 launch, will place unprecedented physical, mental and financial demands on passengers. “There would be few circumstances where I’d be prepared to pay a hefty premium for a slightly shorter journey time,” said Nigel Lake, executive chairman of Pottinger Co., a corporate advisory business with operations straddling New York and Sydney. Prior to Covid, Lake was a regular on Qantas flights stopping in Los Angeles, making him a strong candidate for the new ultra-long haul service. But he plans to stick with two flights to and from Sydney so he can have a shower in the airport lounge or take a walk before the second leg. Story has more.<br/>