Garuda fined $19m for price fixing

[Mattg]

Garuda Indonesia was yesterday fined $19 million by the ACCC for price fixing in the cargo market.

Garuda ordered to pay $19m in ACCC air cargo cartel case

Indonesia's national airline Garuda has been ordered to pay a $19 million penalty as part of a long-running price fixing case brought by Australia's competition watchdog.

www.smh.com.au

Excerpt from the SMH article:

Indonesia's national airline Garuda has been savaged by a federal court judge and ordered to pay a $19 million penalty as a long-running price fixing case comes to a close.

The penalty ordered by the Federal Court on Thursday brings the total carriers including Qantas, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific have had to pay to Australian authorities to $132 million for their roles in a global air cargo cartel.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched legal action against 14 airlines in 2008, alleging they fixed the surcharges on air cargo on flights into Australia.

Federal Court Justice Nye Perram on Thursday ordered Garuda to pay $15 million for fixing the price of security and fuel surcharges and a customs fee, for freight deliveries from Indonesia. Justice Perram ordered it pay another $4 million for imposing insurance and fuel surcharges from Hong Kong.

 

[Dr Ralph]

Will be tough to get the money out of them.

 

[UP4014]

What happened to competition, may the best man (airline) win the business or is there simply not enough to go around considering every man and his dog wants in.

 

[AIRwin]

GA has withdrawn its appeal:

Garuda Indonesia drops Australia court appeal in price-fixing case, told to pay $15 mln fine

An Australian court ordered Garuda Indonesia (GIAA.JK) to pay a fine of A$19 million ($15 million) in relation to a price-fixing case after Indonesia's flag carrier dropped an appeal against the penalty levied two years ago, a regulator said on Tuesday.

www.reuters.com