IATA calls for EU wide backing for PaxIS

Move follows court ruling

The Amsterdam District Court should issue an EU wide declaration that the controversial PaxIS product does not infringe database rights, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said today (October 28).

The call comes after the Dutch court refused earlier this month to grant an injunction to Travelport to prevent the Association using such data.

IATA said the court should now issue a Declaratory Judgement across the whole of the European Economic Area backing the use of PaxIS.

The Passenger Intelligence Services (PaxIS) is a product marketed by IATA to its airlines members which supplies airline business intelligence which in part data is collected through IATA's billing and settlement plans (BSP).

Some of this is stored by third parties including GDSs, like Travelport.

IATA sells this data to airlines which can use if for commercial purposes.

Travelport and other GDSs claim this data is their property and can not be used with out agreement.

 IATA in a statement today said the court ruling against the application for a preliminary injunction "relied on multiple grounds, including arguments that go to the merits of the case".

It added: "In its ongoing efforts to preserve competition for airline data transaction products, and with a view of bringing certainty to the market place, IATA is now seeking a permanent decision on the merits that will bring this matter to a close with an EU-wide decision."

It said that in the meantime, it planned to "vigorously defend the airlines' right to control and benefit from airline data".
 
Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's director general and ceo, said: "It goes against common sense that airline suppliers would take sole control over airline data.

"The industry is losing billions. Improving efficiency, not restricting competition, should be the common goal of every player in the supply chain."

Opponents, like the Business Travel Coalition, said the Amsterdam ruling was just against the application for an injunction and did not deal with the merits of the case.

Travelport said it would fight the decision.

 Tad Ostrowski, its general counsel, said: "It is important to understand this was only a preliminary hearing and not a final decision.

"We remain confident of our position that IATA should not be using this data without our consent and we are now discussing with our legal advisers taking the case forward to a further hearing where the Dutch court will have a better opportunity to understand the issues."

Another leading GDS, Amadeus won a court case against IATA on PaxIS in May when the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration said the use of the data by PaxIS "constitutes a breach of its contractual agreements with Amadeus and also infringes Amadeus' rights under the EU Database Directive." 

The Madrid-based GDS said the court had "ordered IATA not to use any ticketing information transmitted by Amadeus for the purpose of developing, marketing and selling PaxIS, or any other similar reports, or for any purpose, except for the orderly operation of the Billing and Settlement Plans.

"This decision fully supports the position that Amadeus has consistently taken, that the conduct of IATA, in using Amadeus' ticketing information in its PaxIS product, infringes Amadeus' rights."

At the time, IATA said declined to comment on the specific case but said it always complied with court rulings.

A third leading GDS, Sabre also has a case pending against IATA on PaxIS due to be heard in Canada.

www.iata.org   www.travelport.com   www.amadeus.com  www.sabre.com  www.businesstravelcoalition.com