Two more lawsuits against the airlines are moving forward in
Michigan and New York courts.
A lawsuit accusing Northwest, Delta and US Airways of
overcharging passengers by prohibiting hidden-city ticketing was
approved to proceed as a class action by a three-judge panel of the
U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Detroit. The ruling upheld
an earlier decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern
District of Michigan to certify the lawsuit.
Attorneys Nelson Chase and Norman Volk filed the suit in 1996.
They claimed the airlines violated federal antitrust laws by
prohibiting hidden-city ticketing. They are seeking $1 billion in
damages.
Meanwhile, a New York agency, Power Travel International of
Plainview, charged American, Continental, Delta, United and
Northwest with breach of contract in connection with the
elimination of commissions last March. The carriers also breached
an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealings when they
dropped base pay to zero and did not give reasonable advance
notice, the complaint said.
The agency is seeking to recover commissions and other financial
losses incurred because of the last no-notice commission cut, but
attorneys for Power Travel said it is arguable the carriers had no
right to eliminate travel agency commissions unilaterally, with or
without notice.
The agency said it would seek class-action status for the
suit.
Meanwhile, the airlines named in the suit filed motions in the
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to
dismiss it.
