ESC joins air freight class action

The European Shippers Council last week joined the Air Freight Shipping Cartel Litigation class action started more than two years ago in the United States by shippers accusing flagship airlines of price fixing.

The ongoing investigation by antitrust officials of the United States and other countries has focused on air freight carrier agreements regarding fuel, security and war-risk insurance charges.

Japan Airlines International is the latest airline to admit wrongdoing, agreeing to pay a $110 million criminal fine and plead guilty to federal charges of conspiring with its competitors to fix rates for international air cargo shipments. Lufthansa has filed for amnesty in the U.S. class actions and agreed to an $85 million settlement to cover claims. Other airlines that have pleaded guilty are British Airways and Korean Air, both sentenced to pay $300 million, and Qantas Airways who paid $61 million. Cargolux has made a $154.9 million provision against potential fines. 

We believe we have an obligation to represent the interest of European shippers who have not yet joined the class action individually or through other representatives in the class action, said ESC Secretary General Nicolette van der Jagt. We will be communicating to shippers via their representative shippers councils if they wish to make a claim and to submit their evidence to us in strictest confidence. ESC will then make this evidence available to the legal counsel handling the case in order to assist the court in determining the appropriate scale and level of damages to be awarded, or alternatively that might be required in any potential out of court settlement by those airlines on which the court has not yet ruled.

Source: American Shipper