Copyright: DB AG/Volker Emersleben
DB Schenker has finalised its claims against airlines in the long-running case related to an alleged air cargo cartel.
The freight forwarder announced today that it had reached an agreement with Cathay Pacific relating to the civil proceedings concerning the airfreight cartel, as determined by the European Commission, marking the end of the dispute that has lasted more than a decade.
”Following the settlement, this procedure is finally closed, since Cathay Pacific was the last remaining defendant in this case,” DB Schenker said.
The parties to the settlement have agreed to keep the details of the settlement as well as the settlement amount confidential.
Martin Seiler, Deutsche Bahn board member for human resources and legal affairs, said: “Our competition litigation experts have battled to secure over 65 settlements and recovered nearly €700m in damages in the last few years – this marks a victory for justice and fair competition.
“I am pleased that this long-running legal process regarding the air freight cartel has now been successfully concluded.”
The European Commission imposed fines against 11 airfreight carriers - Air Canada, Air France-KLM, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Cargolux, Japan Airlines, LAN Chile, Martinair, SAS, Singapore Airlines and Qantas - due to global competition law infringements concerning fuel and security surcharges.
The European Commission’s decision is currently under appeal at the Court of Justice of the European Union.
“Since 2013, DB Barnsdale has pursued damages on behalf of DB Schenker, other freight forwards and shippers, who assigned their claims to DB Barnsdale, at the Regional Court of Cologne.
“Prior to the agreement with Cathay Pacific, DB Barnsdale had already concluded out-of-court settlements with other airfreight carriers. A final judgment from the German courts in the matter was not to be expected in the near future.”
In 2010 the European Commission fined 11 airlines €799m for operating a price-fixing cargo cartel that affected cargo services within the European Economic area (EEA).
The cartel members coordinated various elements of price for a period of over six years, from December 1999 to February 2006, according to the European Commission.
Since then, there have been further appeals. In 2015, the European Union (EU) General Court annulled the fines concluding that there had been a procedural error.
However, in 2017 that annulment was overturned by the EC and the fines re-instated, which prompted several airlines to launch appeals.
