Brazil, Chile, Israel Airlines Fixed Cargo Prices - USDOJ

LAN Cargo, ABSA Cargo and EL AL Israel Airlines agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to fix air freight prices, the US Justice Department said on Thursday, and the companies will pay a total of criminal fines of USD$124.7 million.

LAN Cargo and ABSA Cargo, which is substantially owned by LAN Cargo, will pay a combined fine of USD$109 million while EL AL will pay a USD$15.7 million fine, the Justice Department said.

All three airlines agreed to cooperate with US prosecutors, who have collected more than USD$1 billion in criminal fines from an ongoing probe of price-fixing for air cargo shipments.

LAN Cargo and ABSA Cargo were charged with conspiring to fix prices for fresh flowers, heavy equipment and other goods between February 2003 and February 2006. Prosecutors said that EL AL's participation in the conspiracy lasted from about January 2003 until at least February 2006.

LAN Cargo said on Wednesday that it agreed to pay an USD$88 million fine over five years as part of the US price-fixing investigation.

LAN Cargo said ABSA Cargo would pay a fine of USD$21 million over five years.

The plea agreements are subject to approval by the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

LAN Cargo said it understood the investigation involved more than 30 international airlines.

The Justice Department said 12 airlines had agreed to plead guilty to price fixing as part of the investigation and would pay more than USD$1 billion in criminal fines. It said three executives had agreed to plead guilty and had been sentenced to serve a total of 20 months in jail.