Some folks claimed that Asiana and Korean Air were colluding on their pricing. They sued, a class action was created, and some lawyers got very rich.
A funny thing happened on the way to the courthouse though. This class action looks like it may actually pay out more to folks than just a small discount on very expensive future travel.
In fact, one estimate of the settlement payout is $500 cash plus $360 in vouchers for future travel — although the actual amount will depend on how many people file claims.
If you purchased a Korean Air or Asiana ticket in the U.S. for travel between the US and South Korea between January 1, 2000 and August 1, 2007 then you may be entitled to a payout. Flying through Seoul doesn’t count — you cannot simply have connected there, you have to have started or ended your journey there. That’s because the claim is about anti-competitive practices in the US-Korea marketplace.
Award tickets don’t count. Codeshare tickets don’t count. And flights to other destinations don’t count — flying Korean Air to South America during the class period won’t get you a payout.
Currently they are not asking for any proof of your flights when submitting a claim. Though they maintain that they could.
And while you’re playing a bit part in the US legal process, claim 25% back on up to 5 purchases of Silk Soymilk and $45 from the pain and suffering you endured as a consumer of Naked juice.
(HT: Randall)
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My husband was stationed in Korea in 2006-2007. He flew back and forth a few times. He flew over in 2006 (one way) and came back for a visit in 2006 (round trip). Then he came back in 2007. One of those times he flew on Korean Air but I can honestly NOT remember which time he flew on them. I think the other airline we used was United. To the best of my knowledge he flew Korean on the roundtrip in 2006 so I used that to complete the form. That purchase came out of our pocket. The other flights were paid for by the military. I did the form so not sure what will come of that!
Already submitted my claim a few months ago for me and my family.. we flew round-trip between JFK and ICN on OZ 17 times..
This should be a simple matter of matching claim forms to passenger lists (assuming they maintain records that far back). If there are a large number of mismatches due to people trying to illegitimately score a buck, then presumably the settlement administrator would request tangible proof (airfare receipt, boarding pass, mileage credit, etc.) Hopefully people respect the process and don’t make it more difficult for passengers who were truly impacted.