Commission closes in on air cargo cartel fines

Decision will galvanize damages claims of as much as €7 billion filed across Europe.

The European Commission is preparing to hit some of the world’s largest airlines with fines running into the hundreds of millions for illegally setting air cargo prices, according to three people close to the inquiry.

The decision expected late this year or early next will galvanize damages claims of as much as €7 billion that have been filed across Europe by companies that were overcharged as a result of the alleged collusions between 12 airlines, including British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM.

Antitrust officials appear to be recasting a landmark 2010 decision, which levied €799 million in fines, that was scuttled by Europe’s General Court last year.

The Commission has requested the airlines’ latest financial data, which is usually a sign the regulator is poised to issue a sanction, according to two of the people. The fines are likely to be similar to what they were in 2010, they added.

Officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The air cargo cartel was a test case for Europe’s nascent system for private claims that commonly follow. More than a thousand companies, including from Philips, Schenker and flower importers, filed claims in courts for damages in the U.K., the Netherlands and Germany.

But, in a rare defeat for Europe’s top cartel-busters, the EU’s General Court struck down the Commission’s decision.

Air France-KLM had the highest fine in 2010 totaling about €300 million, while Lufthansa received immunity for revealing the collusion. The other airlines were: Air Canada, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Cargolux, Japan Airlines, LAN Chile, Martinair, SAS, Singapore Airlines and Qantas.

Click Here: new zealand rugby team jerseys