Proceedings have been launched against Amadeus Polska by UOKiK, the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
Amadeus Polska operates Poland's largest Global Distribution System, which provides online travel information to various travel agencies that enables them to book flights, hotels and car rentals for their customers.
To access a GDS, travel agencies need to use mid-office software. As well as operating the market-leading GDS, Amadeus Polska is also a mid-office software producer.
According to UOKiK, Amadeus Polska has been charging lower fees to travel agencies using its own mid-office software than to those using other software.
If this has the effect of discouraging travel agencies from using competitor software, it could seriously distort the mid-office software market and constitute an abuse of market power. This could result in Amadeus Polska being fined up to 10% of its annual turnover.
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
The original publication date for this article was 13/07/2009.
