ANA Settlement Affects Some U.S. Flyers on Routes to Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands
Lawsuit settlement ends allegations of fixed pricing at the airline and leaves open opportunity for claims and collections by eligible flyers
A $58 million Settlement has been reached with All Nippon Airways (“ANA”) in a class action lawsuit involving the price of airline tickets. Settlements were previously reached with 12 Defendants. The lawsuit claims that ANA agreed to fix prices on tickets for transpacific air travel. As a result, ticket purchasers may have paid more than they would have in the absence of the price-fixing. ANA denies any liability, although it has pled guilty to fixing the prices of certain discounted tickets.
There are three classes included in this Settlement. Generally, purchasers may be included if: (1) Japan Class – they bought a ticket for air travel from ANA or Japan Airlines between February 1, 2005 and December 31, 2007 that included a fuel surcharge; and/or (2) Satogaeri Class – they purchased a ticket from ANA or Japan Airlines between January 1, 2000 and April 1, 2006 for a Satogaeri (i.e., “homecoming”) fare and the ticket included at least one flight segment originating in the U.S. to Japan; and/or (3) Settlement Class III – they bought a ticket for air travel from one of 13 airlines, including ANA or Japan Airlines; the ticket included at least one flight segment originating in the U.S. to Asia or Oceania; and their purchase was made between January 1, 2000 and December 1, 2016.
The full class definitions are available at www.AirlineSettlement.com. Travel agents would be eligible only tickets were purchased for personal use.
ANA has agreed to pay $58 million, to be distributed pursuant to a Plan of Allocation approved by the Court. At this time, it is unknown how much each eligible member of the Classes will receive. But based on the claims filed so far, it is estimated that the average payment of prior settlements, which had classes similar to Settlement Class III, could be in the range of $5 per eligible ticket claimed. Because there is no prior claims history for the Satogaeri and Japan Classes, a per ticket estimate is not possible for those classes.
Claims from the earlier round of settlements have not yet been audited. As a result, the number of claimed tickets that are determined to be eligible may be reduced, and the corresponding amount of compensation to be allocated among the remaining eligible claims may increase.
Those who may want to join the action must submit a Claim Form online at www.AirlineSettlement.com or by mail. The earliest deadline to submit a Claim Form is February 15, 2020, but Class Members will have until 120 days after the Settlement becomes final and effective to file a claim. The Court will hold a hearing on October 18, 2019 to consider whether to approve the Settlement and make a request for attorneys’ fees.
More information: 800-439-1781, www.AirlineSettlement.com.
