Four airlines will pay a total of US$504m (€321m) to US authorities following accusations that they conspired to fix cargo rates.
The US Department of Justice investigation implicatedAir-France-KLM, which will pay US$350m under the terms of the guiltyplea agreements, Cathay Pacific (US$60m), SAS Scandinavian Airlines(US$52m) and Martinair (US$42m).
A major global investigation covering the European Union, US and Australia has uncovered numerous instances of price-fixing in the airfreight industry, with fines of over US$1.2bn handed out to companies found guilty of fixing surcharges on air cargo shipments.
The settle charges still require court approval before they can be paid.
In 2007, British Airways and Korean airways were both fined US$300m after being found guilty of price-fixing in cargo and passenger operations, while Qantas and Japan Airlines have also been hit with fines.
