US Airways v. Sabre

Economists at The Brattle Group assisted US Airways in its monopolization case against Sabre. The lawsuit pertained to alleged anticompetitive provisions in a contract between the two parties over the distribution of airline tickets. Brattle experts and Nobel Laureates Professors Joseph Stiglitz and Dan McFadden, provided expert witness testimony on liability and damages issues. Our work included an analysis of Sabre’s market power in the distribution of airline tickets and how the challenged contract provisions harmed both the airline and consumers. Most notably, we provided insight into the role of “two sidedness” in thinking about this market. In addition, our team analyzed millions of bookings on US Airways flights to assess the overcharges resulting from the challenged restrictions, based on the analysis of “but-for” prices. The 8-week trial in federal court ended in December 2016, and the jury ruled in favor of US Airways. In September 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit remanded the case for retrial.