Travel heavyweights Orbitz, Worldspan sue each other for $50M

:: Travel Weekly :: Travel industry court cases: "Push came to shove this month as two major e-commerce partners, Orbitz and Worldspan, traded $50 million civil suits in two courts here.

Orbitz fired first, alleging in a suit filed on Sept. 16 that Worldspan had conned Orbitz into a “one-sided, long-term agreement” to provide a booking engine for the online service.

Worldspan countersued three days later, claiming to be the victim of “deception and abuse” since August 2000, when its partnership with Orbitz began. Worldspan also alleged that Orbitz stole Worldspan’s data and illegally used ITA Software and Galileo.

In its suit, filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill., here, Orbitz seeks a judgment of more than $50 million plus punitive damages, along with an order precluding Worldspan from pursuing its claims against Orbitz.

Orbitz claims that while negotiating a new contract, Worldspan concealed its objection to the way the Orbitz Web site intermingles flight information from direct connect airlines with information on carriers who do not have those Orbitz connections.

Orbitz also alleges that Worldspan hid the fact that it would not be giving Orbitz access to low cost airlines, including Independence Air.

In addition, Orbitz alleges that it didn’t know at the time the two parties extended their agreement to 2011 that Worldspan considered Orbitz’s use of ITA Software to be a violation of the agreement, which gives Worldspan exclusivity in GDS services."