The saga of the alleged air cargo price-fixing cartel that stretches back to 2006 has reached one more milestone, as Cathay Pacific Airlines reached a US$4.5 million settlement in the civil antitrust class action brought against it and other airlines in Canada.
“Cathay Pacific does not admit any unlawful conduct, wrongdoing or liability in the settlement agreement,” the carrier said in an announcement posted by the Hong Kong stock exchange Nov. 29. The settlement will be paid in full from a reserve account, the airline said. Cathay Pacific reached a US$65 million settlement in the U.S. in 2014, also for charges of antitrust violations involving its air cargo operations.
Cathay was one of dozens of airlines that gained the attention of antitrust regulators between Jan. 2000 and Sept. 2006 for allegedly conspiring to fix fuel and other surcharges, as well as price-fixing cargo contracts. A total of 41 airlines named as defendants in the lawsuits raised rates 28 times during the period in question, resulting in settlements totaling billions of dollars in several courts around the world.
More than US$1billion has been paid to plaintiffs by 27 defendants. Yet to settle in the U.S. are Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand and Polar Air Cargo. Their trial is expected to begin in March 2016.
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