I feel American Airlines is in violation of all three of the major pieces of antitrust legislation in one way or another. The three acts are the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act. Section I of the Sherman Act prohibits: "Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is hereby declared to be illegal and is a felony punishable by fine or imprisonment." Section II applies to: "Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony and is similarly punishable." American Airlines is in per se violation of the restraint of trade element of Section I. American Airline's former chairman admitted that they took willful action to put Vanguard Air!
             lines, Sun jet International, and Western Pacific out of business or at least out of that market. This is blatantly anticompetitive. American may also be in per se violation of Section II because of its use of predatory pricing methods. American Airlines tried to cement their monopoly on the Dallas Fort Worth Area by increasing its capacity while reducing fares at a rate that defies business logic in an obvious attempt to snuff out the newer, smaller companies. Another major element of Section II is monopolization. Monopolization is defined by the Supreme Court as having these two elements: "the possession of monopoly power in the relevant market and the willful acquisition or maintenance of the power as distinguished from growth or development as a consequence of a superior product, business acumen, or historic accident." To be in violation of Section II, these two elements have to be breached.
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