Worldspan, a provider of electronic services to travel agencies, is suing Orbitz for $50 million for breach of contract, including alleged misappropriation of data.
The lawsuit, filed in the Cook County Circuit Court of Illinois (case number 2006L4255), alleges (among other things) that Orbitz has been “abusing and exceeding” access to Worldspan’s electronic systems by improperly accessing data about seatmaps on certain flights that Orbitz customers were considering booking through Orbitz.
Orbitz also allegedly misappropriated other data gathered by Worldspan, including data related to airline taxes and surcharges in connection with airline tickets, and data providing a comparison of available flight routing options and associated prices. Orbitz then allegedly used this information to process requests from Orbitz’s customers.
This is on the heels of other legal issues for online travel agencies not paying adequate hotel taxes.
Alex Eckelberry
(Thanks David)