Eight airlines face cargo price-fixing probe in SA

South African Airways (SAA) and seven foreign airlines could face penalties equivalent to 10 percent of their local revenue after the Competition Commission referred a case of collusion and price-fixing in the air cargo market to the Competition Tribunal, reported Business Day.

The airlines face allegations of fixing the price of fuel surcharges and cargo rates on freight flown into and out of SA between 2000 and 2006.

The airlines involved are British Airways, SAA Cargo, Air France Cargo-KLM, Alitalia Cargo, Cargolux International, Singapore Airlines, Martinair Cargo and Lufthansa Cargo.

The investigation has taken four years to complete and is linked to a broader global investigation by various competition authorities, including the European Union and the US.

Both the local and international investigations were sparked by Lufthansa Cargo applying for immunity from prosecution in exchange for co-operating.

Oupa Bodibe, advocacy and stakeholder manager at the commission, said that the airlines, as members of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), had agreed to a mechanism through which carriers would decide, based on current oil prices, on the timing and the amount of the fuel surcharge to be charged on cargo.

“Furthermore, Lufthansa, Cargolux, Air France-KLM face allegations of fixing cargo rates.”

IATA spokesman Tony Council said the organisation had “absolutely no involvement in the setting of fuel surcharges”.

Airlines around the world have already paid substantial fines in various jurisdictions, the latest being an $87m settlement paid by Air France-KLM and its Dutch subsidiary, Martinair, in the US.
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)