US District Judge Leo Sorokin ruled in favor of the the Justice Department, giving the Biden administration a victory in its years-long lawsuit against the airlines’ collaboration. The Justice Department filed the lawsuit in 2021, alleging the two companies raised prices and reduced choice for air passengers traveling to and from major cities in the Northeast, such as New York City and Boston.
” It effectively removed an entire competitor from these markets, according to Sorokin, leaving customers with fewer options for traveling between hubs like New York’s LaGuardia and Boston’s Logan airports. Sorokin said their pact is the “unreasonable restraint on trade” that violates the Sherman Act, the landmark antitrust law.