AIRLINE FARE SUIT SETTLED

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 23, 1993                   TAG: 9303230177
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ATLANTA                                LENGTH: Short
AIRLINE FARE SUIT SETTLED
Millions of air travelers will get discount coupons under a $458 million settlement approved Monday in a price-fixing lawsuit against the nation's biggest airlines.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Marvin H. Shoob came after three years of litigation over charges that the airlines used a computerized system to mutually raise ticket prices. The airlines denied wrongdoing, but said they preferred to avoid a long, expensive trial.
Shoob approved the settlement basically as it was presented to him last summer. But he cut attorneys' fees from the $24 million they requested to $14.4 million.
Virtually anyone who bought tickets on any of nine airlines between Jan. 1, 1988, and June 30, 1992, is eligible for an award. Most will receive coupons good for discounts on future ticket purchases.
In essence, travelers who bought five or more tickets during the period, or took trips totaling $2,500 or more, will get coupons worth up to 10 percent of the cost of the original tickets. Those with fewer purchases will get vouchers worth up to $100.
The coupons will be interchangeable among a variety of airlines, regardless of which carrier the traveler originally used.
The main settlement in the class-action suit covers Delta, United Airlines, American Airlines and USAir. Similar pacts were reached separately by Northwest Airlines and Trans World Airlines.
The remaining airlines - Pan American World Airways, Continental and Midway Airlines - have gone out of business or filed for bankruptcy protection. But people who flew on those airlines can get coupons for discounts on other airlines.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB