Feds Investigating 4 Major Airlines for Collusion

Four of the country's largest airlines are under federal investigation to determine if they have been working together to drive up airline ticket prices.

"We are investigating possible unlawful co-ordination by some airlines," the Justice Department said in a statement.

Following a series of mergers several years ago, United, Delta, American, and Southwest now control 80 percent of the market.

Officials are asking the companies to produce statements and decisions from the past two years about the size of their fleets.

The theory is that the airlines may have been working together to keep those fleets the same size so they could keep fares up, even as fuel prices have dropped appreciably.

One observer commented, "If the definition of collusion is that the airline executives are calling each other up and saying what they're doing, you know, the next day with their businesses, there's no smoking gun there."

The airlines are denying those accusations, saying they "compete vigorously every day."