Australia's competition watchdog Wednesday began legal action against Thai Airways, accusing the carrier of price-fixing in its air cargo division. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) alleges Thai Airways colluded with other international airlines between 2001 and 2006 to effectively fix the price of fuel and security surcharges.
"The ACCC alleges that the arrangements or understandings were reached in Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong - plus Thailand in the case of a security surcharge called a crisis surcharge - for surcharges applied to cargo originating in those countries," it said in a statement.
The carrier is the eleventh to be pursued by the ACCC in the Federal Court over the alleged cartel activity, which has so far resulted in airlines being ordered to pay 41 million dollars (37.27 million US) in penalties. In December 2008, Australia's Qantas was ordered to pay 20 million dollars in penalties after admitting it engaged in price fixing linked to international cargo fuel surcharges.
A federal court in Sydney also fined British Airways five million dollars after it admitted an illegal arrangement in the air freight market over the same time period with the German airline Lufthansa. And in February this year the court ordered Société Air France, Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij NV, Martinair Holland NV and Cargolux International Airlines SA to pay penalties totalling 16 million dollars.
The ACCC has also instituted proceedings against Singapore Airlines Cargo, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates and PT Garuda Indonesia Ltd. "The ACCC continues to investigate other airlines with the assistance of co-operating parties, and further actions are expected during the next few months," it said.