Northwest hit with $38 million fine

Northwest hit with $38 million fine    Northwest Airlines LLC, now a part of Delta Air Lines, has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $38 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix air cargo prices, the U.S. Justice Department said Friday.
   Sixteen airlines have pleaded guilty or have agreed to plead guilty in the Justice Department's ongoing investigation into price-fixing in the air transportation industry. To date, more than $1.6 billion in criminal fines have been imposed and four executives have been sentenced to serve prison time. Charges are pending against a fifth executive.
   According to a one-count felony charge filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Northwest Airlines Cargo, which is no longer in operation, engaged in a conspiracy to fix the cargo rates charged to customers in the United States and elsewhere for international air cargo shipments from at least July 2004 until at least February 2006.
   Under the plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, Northwest Airlines has agreed to cooperate with the department's ongoing antitrust investigation.
   Justice said that during the time period covered by the felony charge, Northwest Airlines Cargo earned more than $80 million from its air cargo services between the United States and Japan.
   According to the charge, Northwest Airlines Cargo carried out the conspiracy by agreeing during meetings, conversations and communications on certain components of cargo rates for shipments on routes between the United States and Japan and by levying cargo rates in accordance with the agreements reached.
   As a part of the conspiracy, Northwest Airlines Cargo monitored and enforced adherence to the agreed-upon rates.
   In a statement to the Associated Press, Delta said Northwest “had terminated the employment of the individual who it believed had primary responsibility for the conduct in question.”
   Delta said the Justice Department did not allege misconduct by any current or former officer or director of Northwest or Delta.
   Airlines that have pleaded guilty as a result of Justice's ongoing investigation into the air transportation industry are: British Airways Plc, Korean Air Lines Co. Ltd., Qantas Airways Ltd., Japan Airlines International Co. Ltd., Martinair Holland N.V., Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., SAS Cargo Group A/S, Soci't' Air France, Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. (KLM Royal Dutch Airlines), EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd., LAN Cargo S.A., Aerolinhas Brasileiras S.A., Cargolux Airlines International S.A., Nippon Cargo Airlines Co. Ltd. and Asiana Airlines Inc. ' Chris Dupin