The High Court of Australia has rejected an appeal from Garuda Indonesia (GA, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) and Air New Zealand (NZ, Auckland International) over allegations of air cargo price-fixing between 2002 and 2006. The case will now move to the Federal Court which will determine penalties.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) found that the two airlines – along with 13 others – had colluded on air cargo surcharges. The other airlines – Qantas, British Airways, Air France & KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Cargolux, Martinair (Netherlands), JAL - Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, and Thai Airways International – all settled their claims with the ACCC for a total of AUD98.5 million.
The Federal Court originally found that the ACCC had not demonstrated that Garuda and Air New Zealand's price fixing activities occurred in Australia, as the cargo originated in airports outside of the country, and dismissed the claims against the airlines. The ACCC appealed to the Full Federal Court, which found that having Australian customers was enough to establish that the events happened in the Australian market, and upheld the ACCC's determination. Garuda and Air New Zealand were granted special leave to appeal that decision to the High Court, but this has now been rejected.
"This is a significant win for the ACCC in the long-running, highly contested air cargo cartel proceedings," ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said in a statement. "Today's judgement sends a clear message that the ACCC is committed to pursuing cartel conduct that impacts on Australian business and consumers."
