Alaska Air agrees to settle consumer lawsuit opposing merger

Alaska Air Group Wednesday said it agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by private plaintiffs that opposed its merger with Virgin America on antitrust grounds, removing the last big obstacle in the way of its planned deal. The suit was filed in September in US District Court in San Francisco on behalf of 42 fliers and travel agents. The judge had set a trial date for Dec. 12 but ordered a mandatory settlement conference and pretrial hearing on Wednesday. Terms of the settlement weren't disclosed. Alaska Air said it looks forward to closing the transaction "in the very near future." Alaska Air has raised $1.5b in financing for the acquisition of San Francisco-based Virgin American, and already has booked $36m in one-time merger expenses as it worked since the deal was announced in April to prepare for it and attain Justice Department approval. The consumer lawsuit was led by Joseph Alioto, a San Francisco antitrust lawyer who has filed similar complaints on behalf of individual plaintiffs in other big airline mergers in recent years.<br/>