Sabre has proposed a number of concessions designed to
address the Competitions and Markets Authority’s (CMA) concerns over its
acquisition of Farelogix.
Potential remedies to sooth worries about a lack of
competition that could be created by the merger include making the Farelogix
Merchandising system “agnostic” for use with any passenger services system and “guarantees”
that current and future customers would “have the ability to access the full
features and capabilities of” the system.
In addition, the companies have vowed to retain current
pricing, service levels and investment for Farelogix’s Open Connect, the
NDC-enabled API-based distribution technology Sabre is looking to acquire.
Sabre has also promised to allow customers of both its GDS and Open Connect to
extend their contracts on the same terms for at least three years past the
current termination date.
The companies also proposed the CMA appoint a “monitoring
trustee” to ensure the merged firm lives up to these promises.
The concessions are similar to those Sabre and Farelogix put
forward last year when the CMA first announced it was looking into the merger.
At the time, the watchdog found the proposals to be “ineffective” because they
would be difficult to implement, monitor and enforce.
Last month, the CMA said the findings from its investigation
of the deal suggested the only way to ensure a merger would not limit competition
in the airline distribution market would be to block the acquisition, but it is
still welcoming testimony from industry players before it makes a final
decision.
American Airlines has agreed with the CMA’s views, saying
the “only effective remedy in addressing the substantial lessening of
competition” is to prohibit the merger.
Throughout the investigation, Sabre has maintained that the
CMA has no jurisdiction to block the transaction and that, contrary to the
watchdog’s findings, the merger is “resoundingly pro-competitive”.
In a brief published by the CMA last week, Sabre said: “This
transaction would accelerate the delivery of NDC content through the GDS,
increasing competition amongst Sabre, Amadeus and Travelport, as well as
promoting price transparency and inter-brand competition among airlines.”
Meanwhile, Sabre and Farelogix are still waiting to hear the
decision of a court in Delaware after the close of a trial for a lawsuit filed
by the US Department of Justice in opposition to the acquisition.