Travelport And American Airlines Announce Distribution Agreement, Resolution Of Litigation

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Mar 13, 2013, 08:00 ET

ATLANTA and FORT WORTH, Texas, March 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Travelport, a leading provider of critical transaction processing solutions and data to companies operating in the global travel industry, and American Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of AMR Corporation, today announce a new long-term, global distribution agreement. In addition to enabling continued access to shop and book the full content of flights marketed by American Airlines, the new agreement positions Travelport to become the first global distribution system to offer access to American's other products and services.

Following a period of technical integration, Travelport and American plan to use their industry-leading technology, including both Travelport's Universal API technology and American's XML-based direct connect interface, to deliver additional capabilities to all Travelport subscribers, including the ability to sell American's newly introduced Main Cabin Extra seating product.

Main Cabin Extra makes travel more comfortable by providing four to six inches of additional legroom and Group 1 boarding. And since Main Cabin Extra seating is close to the front of the plane, customers can get on and off the plane much faster. By making Main Cabin Extra available through global distribution systems for the first time, American is delivering on its commitment to make the travel experience more connected and comfortable from start to finish.

"Travelport deserves praise for working with American to create a solution that can display all of our product options to travel agents in a transparent, customer-friendly way that also clearly differentiates American's products from other airlines," said Derek DeCross, vice president of global sales for American Airlines.

Dan Westbrook, vice president and general manager of Global Distribution Sales and Service, Travelport, said, "American is an industry leader, and the perfect partner with which to build upon Travelport's airline partnership approach to merchandizing, optional ancillary sales and product differentiation. All of our subscribers will continue to access American's full content, while American can merchandize its full line of products through Travelport, providing consumers and travelers a transparent marketplace and the ability to shop and book all services at their channel of choice."

American and Travelport also resolved all litigation between themselves. The terms of the settlement agreement require review and approval by the court presiding over AMR Corporation's restructuring.

About Travelport (www.travelport.com)

Travelport is a leading provider of critical transaction processing solutions and data to companies operating in the global travel industry.

With a presence in over 170 countries, approximately 3,500 employees and 2012 net revenue of more than $2.0 billion, Travelport is comprised of the global distribution systems (GDS) business, which includes the Galileo and Worldspan brands, its Airline IT Solutions business and a majority joint venture ownership in eNett.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Travelport is a privately owned company.

Follow Travelport on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Travelport

About American Airlines
American Airlines focuses on providing an exceptional travel experience across the globe, serving more than 260 airports in more than 50 countries and territories. American's fleet of nearly 900 aircraft fly more than 3,500 daily flights worldwide from hubs in Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. American flies to nearly 100 international locations including important markets such as London, Madrid, Sao Paulo and Tokyo. With more than 500 new planes scheduled to join the fleet, including continued deliveries of the Boeing 737 family of aircraft and new additions such as the Boeing 777-300ER and the Airbus A320 family of aircraft, American is building toward the youngest and most modern fleet among major U.S. carriers. American's website, AA.com^®, provides customers with easy access to check and book fares, and personalized news, information and travel offers. American's AAdvantage^® program, one of the most popular frequent flyer programs in the world, lets members redeem miles for flights to almost 950 destinations worldwide, as well as flight upgrades, vacation packages, car rentals, hotel stays and other retail products. The airline also offers nearly 40 Admirals Club^® locations worldwide providing comfort, convenience, and an environment with a full range of services making it easy for customers to stay productive without interruption. American is a founding member of the oneworld^® alliance, which brings together some of the best and biggest airlines in the world, including global brands like British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Iberia Airlines, Japan Airlines, LAN and Qantas. Together, its members serve more than 840 destinations with some 9,000 daily flights to nearly 160 countries and territories. Connect with American on Twitter @AmericanAir or Facebook.com/AmericanAirlines. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. AMR Corporation common stock trades under the symbol "AAMRQ" on the OTCQB marketplace, operated by OTC Markets Group.