Global logistics provider Deutsche Bahn (DB) this week claimed victory in its decade-long lawsuit against several air freight carriers that it said had acted as a cartel to artificially inflate cargo prices.
DB said it had successfully recovered damages from Cathay Pacific, the last remaining defendant in an “air freight cartel” that also included 10 other carriers: Air Canada, Air France-KLM, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Cargolux, Japan Airlines, LAN Chile, Martinair, SAS, Singapore Airlines, and Qantas.
Together, those carriers had committed global competition law infringements concerning fuel and security surcharges, leading the European Commission to assess “high levels of fines” on them.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But the decision marks the closing of a procedure that began in 2013, when DB Barnsdale began pursuing damages on behalf of DB Schenker, other freight forwarders, and shippers. Over that time, other air freight carriers have already concluded out-of-court settlements, DB said.
The latest decision was reached in the Regional Court of Cologne between DB’s subsidiary, DB Barnsdale AG, and Cathay Pacific. The European Commission’s decision is currently under appeal at the Court of Justice of the European Union.
“Our competition litigation experts have battled to secure over 65 settlements and recovered nearly 700 Million Euros 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,” Martin Seiler, DB Board Member for Human Resources and Legal Affairs, said in a release.
