Travelport Airline Ticket Price Class Action Settlement

An antitrust class action settlement has been reached that will require Travelport to change its business practices in ways that may lead to lower airfares.

Several dozen named plaintiffs brought this Travelport class action lawsuit against defendants Travelport, Amadeus and Sabre, including their related business entities. These companies operate as “global distribution systems,” or GDSs, which are businesses that function as intermediaries between airlines and travel agents.

The plaintiffs claim these GDSs conspired unlawfully to impose certain contract provisions on several airlines, and that those provisions resulted in higher airfares for the plaintiffs and Class Members.

Among other allegations, plaintiffs claimed each defendant required airlines to make their ticket information available only through that defendant’s platform. Defendants also required airlines to refrain from imposing a surcharge for booking through a GDS or from offering tickets through non-GDS channels, the plaintiffs claim.

The plaintiffs originally sought damages (payment of money) and injunctive relief (a court order requiring the defendants to change their behavior). In July 2016, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla dismissed the claims for damages, leaving the claims for injunctive relief in place.

As a result, the current settlement covers only injunctive relief and does not offer cash payments or other monetary value for Class Members.

The settlement requires Travelport to implement changes in the way it does business that will prohibit it from imposing the contractual provisions at issue on airlines. Other business practice changes may be triggered later, depending on the outcome of the rest of the litigation.

The current settlement covers only Travelport. Claims against the other defendants Sabre and Amadeus are still active.

There is no claim filing process, and Class Members do not have the option of excluding themselves from this settlement. Class Members may object to the settlement by filing a written objection no later than March 14, 2018.

Who’s Eligible

The settlement Class covers all U.S. residents who purchased airline passenger tickets from one of the airlines covered in the settlement between June 1, 2006 and Jan. 12, 2018.

Covered airlines include American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways, AirTran, JetBlue, and Alaska Airlines, according to the settlement agreement.

Potential Award

Injunctive Relief.

Under terms of the Travelport class action settlement, Travelport is barred from cooperating with the other defendants to impose contract provisions on covered airlines. Depending on how the claims against the other defendants play out, Travelport may later be bound by other settlement provisions that require it to offer certain specific contractual alternatives to the airlines.

Travelport has also agreed to amend its antitrust compliance practices and to cooperate with plaintiffs as they continue to bring their claims against Amadeus and Sabre.

Proof of Purchase

No proof of purchase is necessary, since there is no claims process.

FAQs

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS »

NOTE: If you do not qualify for this settlement do NOT file a claim.

Remember: you are submitting your claim under penalty of perjury. You are also harming other eligible Class Members by submitting a fraudulent claim. If you’re unsure if you qualify, please read the FAQ section of the Settlement Administrator’s website to ensure you meet all standards (Top Class Actions is not a Settlement Administrator). If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other open class action settlements you may be eligible for.

Objection Deadline

3/14/2018

Case Name

Daniel Gordon, et al. v. Amadeus IT Group SA, et al., Case No. 1:15-cv-05457-KPF, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Final Hearing

4/23/2018

Settlement Website

www.GDSClassSettlement.com

Claims Administrator

Epiq Systems Inc.

Class Members who need more information are encouraged to contact class counsel directly. Contact information for class counsel is available on the settlement website’s Contact Us page.

Class Counsel

Vincent J. Esades
HEINS MILLS & OLSON PLC

Steven J. Greenfogel
LITE DEPALMA GREENBERG

Joseph R. Saveri
JOSEPH SAVERI LAW FIRM

Robert G. Eisler
GRANT & EISENHOFER PA

Douglas A. Millen
FREED KANNER LONDON & MILLEN LLC

Defense Counsel

Richard S. Taffet
R. Brendan Fee
Andrew S. Wellin
MORGAN LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP