Federal Court of Australia ordered (27-Jun-2018) Air New Zealand to pay AUD15 million (USD11.0 million) in penalties after legal action by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) against a global air cargo cartel. Details include:
- The Court found Air New Zealand made and gave effect to agreements with other airlines to fix the price of fuel and insurance surcharges on air freight services from Hong Kong, and insurance and security charges from Singapore, to various locations, including Australian airports, between 2002 and 2007;
- The Court ordered Air New Zealand to pay a pecuniary penalty of AUD11.5 million (USD8.4 million) for price fixing in relation to fuel surcharges imposed for cargo from Hong Kong to Australia. An additional AUD3.5 million (USD2.6 million) penalty is payable for price fixing in relation to the insurance and security surcharge from Singapore to Australia;
- Air New Zealand also agreed to pay AUD2 million (USD1.5 million) towards the ACCC's legal costs. [more - original PR]