Skymaster Airlines (Manaus International) and BETA - Brazilian Express Transportes Aéreos (São Paulo Guarulhos) have been fined a total of BRL83million (USD35.51million) by the Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica - CADE) for anticompetitive practices. Both cargo carriers are not currently actively operating anymore.
In its ruling, a CADE tribunal found both cargo carriers guilty of "cartel activities" during a joint bid for a public tender issued by the state-owned Brazilian postal service (Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telégrafos - ECT). Skymaster was fined BRL36million and BETA BRL47million.
"The two companies fixed prices and set advantages to hamper free competition in the public procurement promoted by the ECT in 2000 and 2001. One of the main evidences was the signature of a subcontracting agreement to share business acquired from tenders 4 days before the procurement process, in which the companies compromised themselves to share the provision of services in case one of them won," read a CADE ruling.
The watchdog went on to state that the aforementioned agreement encouraged the use of anti-competitive practices.
Both airlines are now defunct.
