Judge Grants Temporary Restraining Order Against American Air

A circuit court judge granted a temporary restraining order preventing AMR Corp.'s (AMR) American Airlines from pulling its flight listings from Orbitz Worldwide Inc.'s (OWW) travel-booking website.

A judge for the Circuit Court of Cook County in Illinois said Friday that American can't remove its flights from Orbitz's platform until the judge rules on Travelport Ltd.'s request for a preliminary injunction. The ruling said the parties may reconvene Nov. 29 to address the situation.

Earlier this month, American said it would pull its flight listings from Orbitz, beginning Dec. 1, unless the two companies can agree on how the online-travel agent gets access to the data.

Traditionally, a global distribution system--such as Travelport or Sabre Holdings--acts as intermediary between travel agents and travel providers, facilitating the search and booking of flights. The GDS charges the airline a fee when a travel agent books a flight.

Travelport--which owns about 48% of Orbitz and is a privately held company owned by Blackstone Group LP (BX), One Equity Partners, Technology Crossover Ventures and Travelport management--contends American's actions are threatening to disrupt the current system.

Travelport, which wasn't immediately available to comment Monday, said earlier this month that American's "action to coerce a more restrictive model under threat" would violate American's contractual obligations with Travelport.

Orbitz declined to comment.

GDS companies were established before the Internet to make it easier for travel agents to access flight-booking information. Sabre was built by American in the 1960s and was spun off from the company in 2000. GDS companies remain big players in linking airlines to high-margin business travelers via travel agents and corporate accounts.

But airlines--American in particular--have been vocal in wanting travel agents and online travel sites to share the expenses of accessing flight listings.

American spokesman Ryan Mikolasik said the court's decision temporarily delays American's plans to implement the termination of its relationship with Orbitz, but the temporary restraining order isn't a final decision and is only intended to give the court and parties more time to develop and present evidence.

"We are confident that once the court hears this evidence and is allowed to make a ruling on the full evidence, it will find that our decision to terminate Orbitz is fully consistent with all of our contractual obligations," Mikolasik said. "In the meantime, we will continue to pursue our efforts to bring newer technologies and lower costs to the distribution of our product."

-By Shara Tibken, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2189; [e-mail]