Washington – LAN Cargo and two other airlines on Jan. 21 reached plea agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice in its investigation of price fixing of fuel surcharges and other fees.
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Under the plea agreement, LAN Cargo pleaded guilty to participating in anti-competitive activities and agreed to pay a fine of $88 million over a five-year period. The company said it would pay the fine out of a reserve fund set aside in 2007 and in the third quarter of 2008.
The air freight company Aerolinhas Brasileiras, in which LAN Cargo has an ownership stake, also reached a plea agreement with the DOJ for a fine of $21 million to be paid over five years.
El Al Israel Airlines agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to fix air freight prices and will pay $15.7 million, the Justice Department said.
The plea agreements are subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
U.S. authorities are investigating more than 30 international airlines operating in the air freight business. Eight other airlines previously reached similar agreements with DOJ: British Airways, Korean Air, Air France-KLM, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, SAS and Martinair/Tampa. DOJ has collected a total of $1.275 billion in fines.
Three airline executives earlier pleaded guilty and were sentenced to serve a total of 20 months in jail.
LAN Cargo said it condemns any violations of competition laws and has taken the necessary measures to prevent such actions from occurring in the future. Since the beginning of the investigation, LAN Cargo has cooperated with the authorities and will continue to cooperate as required, the company said in a statement. The other airlines also agreed to cooperate.
why dont i get some of it back. where dos this money go anyways?
will I get back a refund for the high price I paid them ?
While other airlines have paid even higher fines, this will be held out as just another example of the “Madoffization” of anything to do with Yidden
no wonder the airlines can’t afford to give out packets of peanuts anymore. soon you’ll see vending machines of toilet paper in their bathrooms
El Al defiantly has outrages prices and treats frum people as second class!