I am sure that most of our readers regularly read Flight International magaine.  For the few that do not, it is reporting that the EC has issued statements of objection to at least 15 airlines.

The cargo price-fixing probe has entered a new phase with European regulators handing at least 15 airlines statements of objections. These and similar investigations by other governments could lead to hefty fines for several major carriers.

Two years after government agents raided airline offices around the world, the cargo probe that is causing genuine paranoia in airline cargo departments everywhere is moving from an investigation into actual charges.

The European Commission has entered this phase ahead of the US Justice Department and other agencies by issuing statements of objection to at least 15 airlines. The EC has not said which or how many airlines it has served but 15 carriers have acknowledged they have received such statements (see list above right).

Other government-owned or privately-held airlines that have no duty to disclose may also have been served, but have not told anyone. Some sources claim as many as 25 airlines have received the EC statements, but this number is unconfirmed.

This list of airlines is instructive. First, it includes the three airlines - British Airways, Korean Air and Qantas - that have already pled guilty and agreed to pay fines of nearly a $1 billion. Second, several airlines whose offices were raided or were otherwise investigated have not been named. These include American and United Airlines, as well as Taiwan’s China Airlines and EVA Air.

Both facts underscore a critical point. Even though this may be the world’s largest antitrust investigation, each jurisdiction decides independently how and against whom to proceed. None of the three airlines that settled did so with the EC. Hence, it and any other competition agency that did not settle with these airlines may go after them. And even though the EC apparently has not charged American, United, China Air, EVA or a number of other airlines, this does not mean they are off the hook in other countries. It is possible, for instance, that the EC elected not to charge these carriers, not because it thought they were innocent, but because they did not transport enough cargo to or from Europe to bother.

The article continues at some length.  Check it out.

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