Qantas, Cathay, SIA among airlines sued in price-fixing scandal

Qantas, Cathay, SIA among airlines sued in price-fixing scandal
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German rail company, Deutsche Bahn, are seeking a total of around A$3 billion (2.1 billion euros) in damages from airlines they claim were involved in an airfreight cartel.

According to a report in Reuters, Deutsche Bahn are lodging separate suits in Germany and the United States relating to an air cargo cartel which first hit the spotlight 7 yeas ago triggering fines in the EU and USA.

The rail company is claiming its freight business Schenker has been overcharged for air cargo services over 6 years ago, during the time airlines were found guilty of colluding in setting fuel and security surcharges. The airlines had also avoided paying freight forwarders standard commissions on the surcharges added to base rates, the company stated.

In 2010, 11 airlines were fined 800 million euros for price fixing, which opened the can for private claims.

Airlines being sued in Germany include Lufthansa (which it claims is to blame for 10-20% of the damage), Air Canada, British Airways, Cargolux, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, SAS, Singapore Airlines, LAN and Qantas.

In the USA, the rail company is seeking damages from Air France, All Nippon Airways, Cargolux, KLM, Martin Air, Qantas and SAS.

Reuters report Deutsche Bahn are prepared to settle the matter out of court but carriers in question had so far not been prepared to hold “concrete talks” on damages.

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