British Airways Issues Legal Proceedings Against 32 Carriers
Reports say that British Airways has issued legal action on 32 other carriers, trying to get them to share the burden of damages they might have to pay from fixing cargo prices. The British airline is currently being sued by 20 business, who are seeking compensation after the carrier plead guilty to being part of a cartel from 2000-06.
A British Airways spokesman has confirmed that they are conducting the legal proceedings, saying that they will continue contesting any class action brought by cargo customers. The suit relates to an action brought on the airline by 2 flower importers and is backed by a group of other shippers. Actions are also being taken in South Korea, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.
Hausfeld & Co., which represents the 2 flower importers, says that British Airways has issued legal action against Deutsche Lufthansa, Air France and Qantas, just to name a few. They hope this is a positive move that will urge carriers to recognize their liability in Europe to shippers and to start making sensible settlements, they continued.
They also noted that British Airways and other carriers have plead guilty to price fixing to Canadian, Australian and American regulatory authorities, while they have also been fined recently by South Korean authorities. Plus, the British airline settled to pay a cumulative fine of US$300 million in 2007 to the US Department of Justice over cargo and passenger price fixing.
Recently, Air France announced that they agreed to pay £87 million in a settlement for their US liabilities resulting from the cartel. This followed an US$85 million settlement that Lufthansa reached. Both airlines haven’t commented on the recent legal proceedings, and neither has Qantas.
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