A judge has ruled that a class-action lawsuit alleging price fixing by the big four US airlines can proceed.
A federal judge in Washington DC dismissed a bid by American Airlines, Delta, Southwest, and United Airlines to block the lawsuit.
The action alleges the airlines conspired to keep fares high by keeping seating capacity artificially low.
District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said she could ‘reasonably infer the existence of a conspiracy’ and allowed the lawsuit to proceed.
The airlines argued there was no coordinated action to reduce capacity simultaneously and so there was no collusion.
The class action lawsuit would bring more than 100 lawsuits filed around the country together.
"Starting in 2009, the industry experienced limited capacity growth. Notably, as defendants’ executives acknowledged, this restriction on growing capacity was a marked change within the industry. The court is satisfied that at this stage, plaintiffs sufficiently pled parallel conduct," Judge Kollar-Kotelly wrote.
It has been called a ‘substantial victory’ by lawyer Michael Hausfeld.
"We look forward to moving forward aggressively to secure the relief the public deserves," Hausfeld told Reuters.
The US Department of Justice has already opened its own investigations into the matter.
