In Re Airline Ticket Commission Antitrust Litigation

ORDER

ROSENBAUM, District Judge.

Defendants appeal from an Order, issued January 22, 1996, by United States Chief Magistrate Judge Franklin L. Noel. The Court heard oral argument on February 28, 1996.

I. Background

This case arises from allegations that defendants, a group of major domestic airlines, conspired to fix airline travel agent commissions by uniformly imposing a “commission cap.” The modified commission structure limits travel agents’ and agencies’ ticket commissions to máximums of $25.00 and $50.00 on one-way and round-trip tickets, respectively. 1 The parties have completed discovery…