The European Commission opened a formal investigation on Friday 23 November to clarify agreements between booking system providers Amadeus and Sabreon the one hand and several airlines and travel agents on the other hand, suspecting that these agreements may be incompatible with EU competition law rules.
Amadeus and Sabre are the main suppliers of computer reservation services providing information on flight schedules, available seats and ticket prices. Using these, travel agents and travel management companies can book and issue tickets for travellers.
Agreements have been concluded to this end between these two companies and airlines or travel agents.
The Commission is concerned that such agreements may restrict the ability of airlines to use other service providers with similar activities to Amadeus and Sabre, making it difficult for new players to enter the market and increasing distribution costs for airlines. This would also increase ticket prices for consumers. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)