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Nippon Cargo Airlines, Asiana Airlines and Cargolux plead guilty to cargo price fixing

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Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA), Asiana Airlines and Cargolux agreed (09-Apr-09) to plead guilty to US Department of Justice (US DoJ) charges of collaboration to fix cargo rates and will pay a total of USD214 million in fines. NCA will pay USD45 million in fines, while Asiana will pay USD50 million and Cargolux will pay USD119 million. All three carriers have agreed to cooperate with ongoing investigations by the DoJ and their plea agreements are subject to final court approval. Further fines are expected to be imposed by the EU, which is conducting its own investigations.

Three international airline companies -Luxembourg-based Cargolux Airlines International SA, Japan-based Nippon Cargo Airlines Co. Ltd. (NCA), and Korea-based Asiana Airlines Inc. -have each agreed to plead guilty and pay criminal fines totaling USD214 million for conspiring to fix prices in the air cargo industry. In addition, Asiana was charged with fixing the passenger fares charged on flights from the United States to Korea.

According to the charges filed today in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, Cargolux engaged in a conspiracy in the United States and elsewhere to eliminate competition by fixing the cargo rates charged to customers for international air shipments, including to and from the United States, from as early as Sep-2001 and continuing until 14-Feb-06. The company has agreed to pay a USD119 million criminal fine.

NCA engaged in a conspiracy to eliminate competition by fixing the cargo rates charged to customers in the United States and elsewhere for international air shipments, from in or about Apr-2000 until at least 14-Feb-06. NCA has agreed to pay a USD45 million criminal fine.

Asiana engaged in a conspiracy to eliminate competition by fixing both cargo rates and passenger fares from at least as early as Jan-2000 until at least 14-Feb-06. Asiana has agreed to pay a USD50 million criminal fine.

Under the plea agreements, which are subject to court approval, Cargolux, NCA and Asiana have agreed to cooperate with the Department's ongoing investigation.

Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department's Antitrust Division, Scott D. Hammond, said, "Fifteen airlines and three executives have been prosecuted to date for their participation in price-fixing agreements that inflicted a heavy toll on American businesses and consumers as well as the global economy. The Department will continue its investigation into this criminal conduct until all co-conspirators are brought to justice."

These cases arise from an ongoing investigation into the air transportation industry. Including Cargolux, NCA, and Asiana's pleas, 15 companies have pleaded or agreed to plead guilty in the Justice Department's investigation into price fixing in the air transportation industry. British Airways Plc, Korean Airlines Ltd, Qantas Airways Limited, Japan Airlines International Co. Ltd., Martinair Holland N.V., Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, SAS Cargo Group A/S, Société Air France and Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. (KLM Royal Dutch Airlines), LAN Cargo S.A., Aerolinhas Brasileiras S.A., and EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd. have also pleaded guilty. Additionally, three individuals have previously pleaded guilty for their involvement in the illegal activity. Collectively, the companies have paid or agreed to pay fines totaling more than USD1.6 billion and all three executives have been sentenced to serve jail time.

Cargolux, NCA, and Asiana are charged with carrying out the air cargo price-fixing conspiracy with co-conspirators by:

  • Participating in meetings, conversations and communications in the United States and elsewhere to discuss the cargo rates to be charged on certain routes to and from the United States;
  • Agreeing, during those meetings, conversations and communications, on certain components of the air cargo rates to charge for shipments on certain routes to and from the United States;
  • Levying cargo rates in the United States and elsewhere in accordance with the agreements reached; and
  • Engaging in meetings, conversations and communications in the United States and elsewhere for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon cargo rates.


In addition, Asiana is charged with carrying out the air passenger price-fixing conspiracy with co-conspirators by:

  • Participating in meetings, conversations and communications in the United States to discuss wholesale and passenger fares to be charged on flights from the United States to Korea;
  • Agreeing, during those meetings, conversations and communications, on the wholesale fares and passenger fares to charge on flights from the United States to Korea;
  • Levying wholesale and passenger fares on flights from the United States to Korea in accordance with the agreements reached; and
  • Engaging in meetings, conversations and communications in the United States for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon passenger fares and wholesale fares.


Cargolux, NCA and Asiana are charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, a violation that carries a maximum fine of USD100 million for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division's National Criminal Enforcement Section, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General.