The system worked so well that Sabre would later become its own company and expand to cover other airlines. It would grow further, becoming even more vital to the industry by tracking not just airline bookings but almost anything to do with travel, from the hotel to the rental car. Anyone who’s ever booked a holiday will likely have been facilitated by the Texan company’s technology.
For years, the government has asked telecom giants and banks to help track individuals worldwide, whether through tapping calls or sharing the location of bank withdrawals. But with Sabre, it has a particularly powerful snooping option. With financial institutions or the telecoms industry, the government has to go to each separate bank or operator and serve an order on them. It could take a similar approach with the travel industry, asking each airline, hotel and booking agent.
The latest order on Sabre also notes the company had previously complied with three similar orders to “assist in effectuating arrest warrants”: two in the Western District of Washington in 2017 and 2019, another in the Northern District of California in 2016. Again, the documents remain under seal.