SOURCE: Yahoo http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/031002/worldspan_orbitz_1.html Orbitz Wants to Drop Worldspan Deal Thursday October 2, 4:47 pm ET By Brad Foss, AP Business Writer Orbitz Threatens to End Service Agreement With Airfare Technology Distributor Worldspan Online travel giant Orbitz has threatened to terminate a service agreement with Worldspan, a provider of airfare distribution technology. Worldspan announced Thursday that it received a so-called notice of termination -- a document in which Orbitz stated its legal right to nullify their contract at the end of the month because Worldspan has not lived up to specified levels of service. Worldspan warned in a press release that the loss of Orbitz as a customer would have a "material impact" on its finances. At the same time, the Atlanta-based company disputed Orbitz's claims, saying it has provided a "superior level of service," and that following through on the threat would constitute a "wrongful termination." Worldspan said it is "considering its remedies against Orbitz." In response, Orbitz called Worldspan "an important vendor and technological partner," and said the dispute over the quality of Worldspan's service would likely be resolved. "We are discussing service level issues with Worldspan," the Chicago-based company said in an e-mail sent to reporters, "and given our long and constructive relationship, expect to find a mutually agreeable resolution." Orbitz has relied on Worldspan's computerized reservation system for its airfare listings since 2001, when the online travel company was founded. More recently, Orbitz has been able to tap directly into the reservation systems of a handful of individual airlines. However, it still relies on Worldspan for the flight schedules and fares of hundreds of airlines. Worldspan's technology is also used by Expedia, Priceline.com and thousands of travel agents. Worldspan, which was previously owned by Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines and American Airlines, was sold to Travel Transaction Processing Corp. in March for $745 million. Travel Transaction Processing is a new company formed by Citigroup Venture Capital Equity Partners LP and Toronto-based Teachers' Merchant Bank. -- David Mueller / MRY dmueller7@xxxxxxxxx http://www.quanterium.com