Class action suit weighed against air cargo industry

Class action suit weighed against air cargo industry The legal team that won a multimillion-dollar price fixing class action lawsuit against Virgin Atlantic and British Airways over excessive fuel surcharges plans to next aim at the air cargo industry in what could be a $1 billion lawsuit.
   Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll signed a February settlement worth nearly $150 million for U.K. fliers and $59 million for U.S. fliers that purchased a long haul ticket to the United States or the United Kingdom between Aug. 11, 2004 and March 23, 2006.
   The settlement stems from a suit filed in February 2006 alleging that British Airways, Virgin and 14 other airlines colluded to illegally increase fuel surcharges added to the ticket price. The settlement provides for an average return of $20 for each flight segment.
   Under terms of the settlement, passengers who bought tickets within the specified timeframe can apply for partial reimbursement of the fuel surcharge levied at the time. Individual applications in the six figures have already been submitted and according to the law firm, numerous businesses are making multiple claims under the settlement. All together, more than 1,200 registrations for compensation under the suit have been filed and it is thought that many thousands more could be entitled to compensation.
   In addition to the civil suit, British Airways was hit with massive U.K. and U.S. government fines. The Office of Fair Trading in the United Kingdom fined BA nearly $540 million over the price fixing scheme and the U.S. Department of Justice hit the airline with a separate $300 million fine in the same case. Virgin escaped fines by coming forward to expose the scheme and assisting in the investigation.
   Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll believes that claims against cargo airlines may rise even higher than those in the civil case against BA and Virgin, perhaps close to $1 billion.
   While the firm has not yet filed a suit against any carrier in the air cargo industry, any legal action is expected to be similar in nature and claims to the BA and Virgin suit. The firm also has not mentioned any specific carrier in regards to a possible suit. However, earlier this year, U.S. federal investigators reached a settlement with Air France, KLM, SAS and Martinair Holland worth a collective $504 million for years of alleged air cargo price fixing.
   Added to earlier fines levied against British Airways, Qantas, Japan Airlines and Korean Air Lines, and the total comes to nearly $1.2 billion — the largest fines ever imposed by the U.S. government in an antitrust case.