ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 4, 1996 TAG: 9609040110
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MINNEAPOLIS
Several of the largest airlines agreed Tuesday to pay $72 million to settle a lawsuit filed by travel agents who accuse them of conspiring to cap commissions paid on ticket sales.
An agreement was reached between the travel agents and American, Delta, Northwest and United airlines. The carriers denied all claims in the antitrust lawsuit but said they settled to avoid risks and expenses of further litigation.
Earlier Tuesday, Continental and USAir announced they had agreed to pay to settle. TWA settled shortly after the antitrust lawsuit was filed last year on behalf of about 33,000 travel agents.
The settlements came as jury selection in the class-action lawsuit was about to begin in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.
The total of the settlements is slightly more than $86 million in cash, said Sam Heins, the lead attorney for the travel agents.
The suit was filed after the airlines capped commissions at $50 for any domestic ticket exceeding $500. Agents typically had received 10 percent of the ticket price.
The lawsuit accused the airlines of conspiring to set commissions at artificially low levels, then announcing the limits at different times to give the impression that they were acting independently.
-Associated Press
LENGTH: Short : 35 linesby CNB