FlightAware drops Kalshi lawsuit over a market niche that data shows it never took off

According to a Fortune article in July, Kalshi decided to pause flight cancellation contracts, after social media users expressed concerns over malicious actors causing flight cancellations to collect payouts. And according to Kalshi data, retail participation in the niche aviation series has been modest. For the U.S. flight cancellation bet currently open until Aug. 14, the data reveals only 31,412 total contracts traded, representing $1,842.48 in aggregate dollar volume and only 1,120 contracts held in open interest. The low liquidity here stands in stark contrast with Kalshi’s $148 billion in volume this year alone, that same data shows.

The filing does not state whether the companies reached an agreement or whether Kalshi changed its markets or their settlement source.

Kalshi and FlightAware were contacted via email for comment but neither responded immediately.

FlightAware had accused Kalshi of using its flight data and a trademark without permission to run bets on airline cancellations. The flight tracking firm was seeking damages and an injunction over contracts that allowed users to trade on the percentage of flights canceled nationally or at specific airports.

Kalshi had denied violating FlightAware’s license or infringing its trademark, according to the original complaint. It said its references to FlightAware constituted nominative fair use. The platform had also identified U.S. Department of Transportation flight data as an alternative source for settling the contracts, according to FlightAware’s complaint.