Airline price-fixing case sheds light on industry: analysts

SINGAPORE (AFP) — Last month's agreement by Cathay Pacific and three other airlines to plead guilty and pay more than half a billion dollars in criminal fines has shed light on industry price-fixing, analysts say.

They say an industry culture that accepted the practice has allowed it to endure, especially in the cargo sector, while the lack of Asia-wide anti-trust provisions has also been a contributing factor.

"It is impossible that an activity on this scale and geographical breadth could endure for years, unless it formed part of an endemic culture," the Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) consultancy said.

"For a heavily regulated industry that is only now emerging from government ownership, it is hardly surprising that this culture would overhang the widespread changes that have taken place."

The US Department of Justice said four airlines, including Air France-KLM and Hong Kong-based Cathay ...