Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific has announced it will pay C$6m (US$4.5m) to settle a group of antitrust class actions in Canada accusing it of colluding with other airlines to raise international air cargo rates, according to press reports.
“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 on November 29.
Cathay Pacific reached a US$65m settlement in the US in 2014, also for charges of antitrust violations involving its air cargo operations, according to press reports.
Cathay was one of dozens of airlines that gained the attention of antitrust regulators between January 2000 and September 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 totalling billions of dollars in several courts around the world, reports Air Cargo World.
More than US$1bn has been paid to plaintiffs by 27 defendants, the site said.
Yet to settle in the US are Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand and Polar Air Cargo. Their trial is expected to begin in March 2016.
