Who's the whistle blower?

October 26, 2010


British Airways could be fined up to EUR€80 million (USD$112 million) next month for fixing cargo prices with other carriers, a source with direct knowledge of the case said on Tuesday.
The European Commission charged BA, Air France-KLM, SAS and several other airlines in December 2007 with taking part in an air freight cartel.
The EU watchdog is expected to announce penalties for the carriers on November 9, several sources have said.
The charges followed raids on both sides of the Atlantic a year earlier that also involved the US Department of Justice.
"The Commission is considering a fine of between EUR€60 million to EUR€80 million," the source said, adding that no final decision has been taken and discussions are continuing.
A European Commission spokeswoman described the figure as speculation.
BA, which declined to comment, lost a record GBP£531 million in the year to March 2010 but expects to break even in the full year to March 2011 despite bigger-than-expected first quarter losses due to the impact of volcanic ash and strikes.
LUFTHANSA BLEW WHISTLE The Commission has not identified the targets of its probe, but BA, Lufthansa, SAS, Air France-KLM, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Air Canada and Alitalia all confirmed they had been investigated.
Lufthansa previously said it had immunity as it alerted the Commission to the cartel.
The probe initially targeted more than 20 carriers, including Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, Cargolux, Malaysia Airlines and Alitalia, but not all are expected to be found guilty.
The Commission can fine companies up to 10 percent of their global sales for breaching EU rules, but fines rarely reach that level.
BA and Korean Air each paid USD$300 million in criminal fines in the US price probe in 2007; Air France-KLM agreed to a USD$87 million US civil antitrust claims settlement in July.
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