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U.S. probes four big airlines
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February 26, 1998: 8:22 a.m. ET
Carriers investigated to see if they tried to muscle out small competitors
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the four largest U.S. airlines to see if they are trying to muscle out smaller carriers at the nation's busiest airports.
Northwest Airlines (NWAC), AMR Corp.'s (AMR) American Airlines, Delta Air Lines (DAL) and UAL Corp.'s (UAL) United Airlines have been under investigation since last year over how they've reacted to small carriers trying to enter their turf, the Wall Street Journal said Thursday.
In early February, the Justice Department sent subpoenas to four airlines, Reno Air, AirTran, Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines, the carrier that filed the original complaint leading to the investigation.
Justice is asking those airlines about how the big airlines responded to the smaller carriers' entry into airports in Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis, Atlanta and New York.
The agency is trying to discern whether the larger carriers engaged in drastic price-cutting and other anticompetitive measures in order to make it economically unfeasible for smaller firms to expand service to the airports.
The small airlines are being asked to submit information on pricing, routes, passenger mileage, profits and expansion plans from the last three years. They also were asked for aircraft leasing and purchasing information, along with details on purchasing airport gates, known as "slots."
In addition, the carriers are being questioned about routes they've abandoned because of price cutting and also about routes they haven't even attempted to fly.
The antitrust lawyers are concerned about the major airlines because they maintain a strong hold on many lucrative routes from hubs to major destinations.
For example, United has a firm grip on Denver with 71 percent of available passenger seats, while Northwest holds 82 percent in Minneapolis and United and American combined have 84 percent at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. 
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