Northwest Faces Suit In Dispute Over Prices

Eight travelers have filed a lawsuit against Northwest Airlines, accusing it of overcharging customers because of its dominant position at the airport here.

The suit filed Monday in U.S. District Court alleged Northwest has overcharged passengers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport by about $400 million annually.

About 30 million passengers use the airport each year. Northwest flights account for some 80 percent of the air traffic.

K. Craig Wildfang, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the suit seeks refunds of the overcharges for passengers who traveled from June 1993 to the present. No specific amount is being sought, he said.

“However you slice it, we are talking about a lot of money out of consumers’ pockets,” he said.

In the suit, the plaintiffs alleged that Northwest’s merger with Republic Airlines in 1986 violated federal antitrust law and created monopoly pricing.