Airlines face $1.1b in fines for price-fixing

British Airways, Air France-KLM and 11 other carriers are expected to be fined a total of about US$1.1 billion by EU anti-trust regulators for fixing cargo prices, reported The Independent.

The European Commission charged the carriers in December 2007 with participating in an air freight cartel, following raids on both sides of the Atlantic a year earlier that also involved the US Department of Justice.

"Thirteen airlines will be fined, of which six are non-European carriers," said a senior European source.

The Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia is set to announce the fine in Brussels this afternoon.

British Airways could be penalised by as much as $166.32 million, the source said.
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)