Air New Zealand (NZ, Auckland International) says it has agreed to settle its role in the Air Cargo Shipping Services Antitrust Litigation suit for USD35 million or 2.8% of the USD1.223 billion paid in settlements by twenty-eight other airlines.

The carrier said in a filing to the New Zealand stock exchange that it had agreed to settle the claim rather than 'take the risk of a potentially very material commercial liability by continuing to defend its position'.

“This is purely a question of mitigating an unacceptable risk created by the US class action system which creates enormous pressure to settle such matters commercially. There was no credible evidence that any Air New Zealand employee participated in any conspiracy, but the potential for an unexpected verdict was not an acceptable commercial risk for the airline,” said John Blair, Air New Zealand’s General Counsel.

Antitrust Commissions from around the world have pursued a cartel of carriers accused of conspiring to inflate the cost of air freight by manipulating their fuel and security surcharges over the period January 2000 to February 2006.

Air New Zealand and Air India (AI, Delhi International) were the last two hold-outs in the case which is set to go to trial in New York in September.