Toronto, 13 May 2002: The Canadian Standard Travel Agent Registry (CSTAR) announced today that it retained the law firms Lauzon B=E9langer = of Montr=E9al and Poyner Baxter of Vancouver to file a class action = lawsuit, which was filed today in Federal Court in Montr=E9al, against = Air Canada, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Continental Airlines, = Northwest Airlines, United Airlines, and the International Air Transport = Association (IATA). The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Canada's 3700 accredited travel = agencies, is in direct response to the Defendant carriers' reduction and = elimination of base commissions as high as 10% due agents on the sale of = domestic, transborder, and international air transportation in Canada. The following are key allegations in CSTAR's case: - CSTAR alleges that the Defendant airlines engaged in a conspiracy and = collusion as early as 1995 to jointly agree to reduce and eliminate base = commissions paid to Canadian travel agencies; - CSTAR alleges that the Defendant airlines, along with their trade = association, IATA, jointly agreed to amend industry agreements to lower, = fix, stabilize, and eventually eliminate base commissions paid to = Canadian travel agencies; - CSTAR alleges that the Defendants' conduct violated Section 45 of = Canada's Competition Act (R.C.S. 1985, C-34); - CSTAR alleges that the Defendant airlines created airline-owned, = online booking web sites known as Orbitz, Hotwire and Destina, providing = an opportunity to agree, combine, and conspire to impose collusively and = collectively reductions in travel agent commissions, with the motive of = excluding travel agents from the sale of airline tickets and redirecting = the sale of airline tickets from travel agents to Defendants' web sites, = thereby preventing travel agents from performing their traditional = function of assisting consumers in finding the best and most convenient = airfares; - CSTAR alleges that Defendant IATA provided Defendant airline members = with opportunity, facilitation, administration, and enforcement to = prevent travel agents in Canada from earning base commissions on = interline sales (sales involving the services of more than one airline = on a given ticket) by imposing arcane and discriminatory ticketing = practices which prevented other carriers from remunerating the travel = agent.=20 CSTAR's allegations focus on the fact that by jointly moving from = reduced base commissions to zero base commissions, the Defendant = airlines conspired to methodically dismantle the travel agency = distribution channel in a plan to exercise monopoly and/or dominant = market power over both the operation and distribution of air = transportation at their hubs and/or in their respective market areas.=20 CSTAR alleges that through the elimination of travel agencies, the = Defendant airlines intended to force consumers to Defendant airlines' = direct distribution channels via their call centres, web sites, and = joint-airline web sites, thereby preventing consumers from accessing low = fare and best routing advice from independent travel agents. CSTAR = alleges that the result yielded higher prices for the consumer and less = service. CSTAR seeks entitlement to punitive, aggravated and exemplary damages in = the circumstances which it has alleged. CSTAR will have no further comment on this matter.=20 - 30 -