Air China agrees to $50m payout in US air cargo cartel lawsuit
05 / 02 / 2016
Air China has reached a $50m settlement with plaintiffs in the ongoing air cargo cartel class action lawsuit in the US.
Law firm Robins Kaplan LLP said that Air China Limited and Air China Cargo Company Limited had agreed to the payout.
It said only Air India and Air New Zealand were now left to face trial, due to go-ahead in September.
The industry-wide litigation arose from allegations about the pricing practices of a number of air cargo carriers on routes to and from the US from January 2000 through September 2006.
In total 26 settlements had been entered into totalling just under $1.2bn.
The law firm said in separate criminal antitrust probes running parallel to the civil case, 21 different air cargo providers have pleaded guilty and have agreed to criminal fines of more than $1.8 billion.
In January, Polar Air Cargo reached a $100m settlement with plaintiffs.
Last year, Air China had the fastest growing cargo volumes of many of its competitors.
