[110317.EN.AIR] Air France-KLM and Other Carriers Said to Face Renewed EU Antitrust Fines

AIR France-KLM Group, British Airways and a handful of other carriers may face multimillion-euro antitrust fines from European Union regulators within weeks after attempts to broker a settlement failed, according to people familiar with the case, Bloomberg reported.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager is seeking to re-impose penalties of almost EUR800 million (US$844 million) for a cargo cartel that were thrown out on procedural grounds by an EU court in 2015, said the people, who asked not to be named because the process isn't public.

The final amount of the fines could differ slightly from those imposed earlier, they said.

Many of the airlines hoped to reach a settlement to limit follow-on lawsuits from customers and avoid more court fights with the EU, the people said. But other airlines couldn't agree on a potential accord, and the case could now rumble on for years with likely appeals.

Eleven airlines were fined EUR790.5 million in 2010, with Air France-KLM ordered to pay about EUR310 million and IAG SA's BA told to pay a EUR104 million penalty.

The European Commission said the companies ran a global scheme affecting cargo services in Europe by coordinating their actions on surcharges for fuel and security without discounts over six years. Deutsche Lufthansa AG wasn't fined because it informed the EU.

Source : HKSG.