THAI fined A$7.5 mn on price fixing
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Thai Airways International has paid the 7.5 million Australian dollar penalty to the Australian government, for breaching the Trade Practices Act 1974.
In a statement to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, the airline said that it already used reserve to pay for the 7.5 million pecuniary penalty as well as the legal proceeding cost of 500,000 Australian dollars, as ordered by the Federal Court in Sydney.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched the investigation on October 28, 2009. It subsequently filed the lawsuit for violating the law.
As part of the settlement, Thai Airways admitted to engaging in price-fixing for a fuel surcharge, security surcharge and customs fee for the carriage of freight from Indonesia to Australia.
The court's decision comes a week after the Federal Court hit Singapore Airlines Cargo and Cathay Pacific Airways with $23 million in penalties for similar conduct.
Thai Airways became the 13th international airline to admit to engaging in cartel conduct.ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the $98.5 million in penalties already ordered by the court was the biggest arising from a single ACCC investigation.
The ACCC's trial against Air New Zealand and Garuda Indonesia continues before Justice Perram in the Federal Court in Sydney.
