AIRLINES

U.S. Planning Suit Against Airlines: The Department of Justice plans to file a lawsuit against major airlines, claiming that they violated price-fixing laws by sharing plans for fare changes through a computer system, officials said. About three years ago the government started investigating whether airlines signaled price changes to each other through a system intended to give travel agents and passengers advance warning of fare increases or discounts. Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona said the department has told various airlines about the pending civil antitrust lawsuit, which claims that they coordinated prices. The department would not name the airlines involved. The Justice Department investigation involves the same computer system that was the subject of a class-action lawsuit tentatively settled by six major airlines earlier this year.