Three more Asian airlines confirmed yesterday they were being probed amid an investigation by US, European and Asian regulators into alleged collusion in the air cargo industry to fix prices on surcharges for fuel, security and insurance.
South Korea's Asiana Airlines Inc, Japan's Nippon Cargo Airlines Co and Singapore Airlines Ltd all said they had either been visited or contacted by regulators as part of the investigation this week.
More than a dozen airlines have come under the spotlight this week, including Japan Airlines Corp, Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, British Airways PLC and Germany's Lufthansa AG.
Raids were conducted at the offices of several airlines on Tuesday, and on Wednesday several more cargo carriers said they had been contacted or issued subpoenas from authorities.
No comment
Spokespersons for the European Commission, the US Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation refused on Wednesday to provide details about the probe.
Singapore Airlines Ltd said in a statement yesterday that its cargo division had "received requests for information from the US and European authorities, and has provided the information sought. SIA Cargo will cooperate fully with the authorities."
Asiana confirmed its offices in Seoul were visited and documents were inspected by South Korean anti-trust authorities on Tuesday, according to spokesman Jason Kim.
Nippon Cargo Airlines, the cargo division of All Nippon Airways, said officials from the US District Court of the District of Columbia left papers at the company's office at New York's John F. Kennedy airport Tuesday to appear at the court by April, according to spokesman Yuhei Yamashita.
SAS AB's SAS Cargo in Copenhagen, Denmark, said the EU has alleged that cooperation among airlines began in 2000 and involved agreements about surcharges imposed by airlines to offset certain external costs.
Among the costs, according to a statement from SAS, are surcharges on fuel, added security after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the US and premiums for war-risk insurance after the start of the war in Iraq. SAS said in a statement it does not suspect any violations at its operations.
Atlanta-based shipping giant UPS Inc has been ``informally contacted'' by the Justice Department regarding the probe, company spokesman Norm Black said on Wednesday.
"UPS understands it is not part of the probe," Black said, adding that the company was not searched or subpoenaed. "As is its practice, UPS will cooperate with requests from government agencies."
The largest US airline, AMR Corp's American Airlines, said it has received a subpoena from the Justice Department but has not been told it was a target of the investigation, spokesman Tim Wagner said.
"And unlike some other airlines," he said, American didn't receive a search warrant.
He said the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline would cooperate fully with investigators.
Office searched
Illinois-based UAL Corp's United Airlines had its Frankfurt, Germany, office searched by EU officials, according to United spokesman Jeff Green. He said other air freight carriers in Frankfurt had similar visits. He said he was unaware of any other searches or inquiries involving other United offices or airports.
Meanwhile in Chicago, FBI spokesman Ross Rice confirmed on Tuesday that the FBI had searched the Air France-KLM cargo terminal at O'Hare International Airport as part of an ongoing investigation. He would not say what the investigation was about.
Among the other airlines that were searched or approached by investigators are Atlas Air Worldwide Holding Inc's Polar Air Cargo unit, Japan Airlines Corp, Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, British Airways PLC, Germany's Lufthansa AG, Luxembourg's Cargolux Airlines and Lan Chile.
Most said they were cooperating with the probe.
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc, whose cargo business makes up only a small fraction of its revenue, has not been contacted in the probe, spokeswoman Chris Kelly said. Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx Corp also has not been contacted, spokesman Jess Bunn said.
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