Qantas Fined $61m (Merged)
 

Just heard on the early morning news that QF have been fined $61m for price fixing on their cargo prices between US and OZ... Ooops :eek:

Ouch!:ouch:

Is that here in Oz, because I bet they will get pinged both here and the US which could mean a bit more loose change is about to be confiscated.

Of course that will come out of executive bonuses not the T&C's of the workers, so do not fear!

J:E

If I remember correctly, Qantas had this money set aside to cover this expense 12 months ago.

Yeah they did. In Sept this year they annouced that had put aside $41m in anticipation. A 20 million short fall is a significant amount and would have to hurt.

..............hmmmmmm have Pratts & QF merged?:}

OK lets see here, whether I steal a gazzilion dollars at gunpoint or not I can expect to go to gaol, hard time.

So who in Qantas is going to step forward and take it like a man for the team???:mad:

Just like our paper/board manufacturer friends. At least Qantas didn't try that sleazy PR/Australian magazine/philanthropist routine, what a prat. :{

Why am I not surprised that Qantas would engage in illegal behavior?
I hope that one of the things Mr. Rudd does during his first 100 days in office is to provide for a criminal (rather than civil) convictions for price fixing and similar anti competitive behaviour and attach mandatory long jail terms.

Corporate Governance and repsonsibility should see the board resign en mass...

Sadly both are lacking at Q and it will be business as usual.

One assumes the three or four hundred million dollar windfall goes into the US consolidated revenue and not one cent is returned to the victims of the alleged cartel?

QANTAS fined $60 million. Not a good example from the flag carrier
 

Qantas were fined $60 million for price fixing. A lot more than the $47 million they had set aside. ( Channel 7)
At the recent Qantas A.G.M the directors made light of the charge, but it just shows that Qantas act illegally when it suits them. Surely the directors and not the shareholders should be held responsible.
Imagine how many bottles of plonk they could have given the passengers.
Has Mrs Dixon's little boy Geoff been caught with his fingers in the cookie jar. If not then why won't he speak up.

Do BA not hold a shareholding in Qantas, price fixing is old hat to BA!

Yes Torres, perhaps the victims of this scam could take civil action.

No Phileas, not since 2005.

It will be interesting to see what spin Margaret Jackson puts on this little blot of her tenure.

BD

Looks like it's already underway,

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...28/2103509.htm

If I set u a business to conduct illegal activities, wouldnt i be held responsible? Why are these people never held responsible or made accountable?

Wonder who the other 30 are?
 

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/BUSINESS....ap/index.html
Qantas admits price-fixing in U.S.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Qantas Airways Ltd. on Tuesday became the third international airline this year to admit to price-fixing and agree to pay a multimillion-dollar fine to the U.S. government.
art.qantas.getty.jpg

Qantas acknowledged imposing fuel surcharges in the airline's freight division.

The Australian carrier's CEO said U.S. and foreign antitrust regulators are investigating up to 30 airlines for similar conduct.

Qantas sought to eliminate competition by fixing the rates for shipments of cargo to and from the U.S and elsewhere from at least January 2000 through February 2006, according to the charges filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

During the time covered by the felony charge, Qantas was the largest carrier of cargo between the U.S. and Australia, earning more than $600 million from its cargo flights between the two nations, according to the Justice Department.

Under the plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, Qantas has agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department's ongoing investigation and pay a $61 million fine.

Qantas Chief Executive Geoff Dixon apologized for the illegal conduct, which he said involved fuel surcharges in the airline's freight division. The company's financial statements include a $40 million provision for the U.S. case, and "we do not believe this or any further financial penalties will materially affect future operating results," he said.

Qantas has cooperated fully with antitrust investigations in the U.S. and elsewhere since May 2006 and expects them to take up to two years to complete. "We understand more than 30 other airlines are included," Dixon said in a release.

Earlier this year, British Airways PLC and Korean Air Lines Co. Ltd. each pleaded guilty and agreed to pay separate $300 million criminal fines for their roles in conspiracies to fix the prices of passenger and cargo flights.

Qantas was charged with carrying out the price-fixing by participating in meetings to discuss the cargo rates to be charged on certain trans-Pacific routes to and from the U.S., and then levying rates according to the agreements reached.

Four former and two current Qantas employees have been excluded from the plea agreement and the Justice Department has reserved the right to investigate further. The two current Qantas employees "deny involvement in any illegal conduct," Dixon said.

"It was so unnecessary, they didn't really have to collude," said airline consultant Michael Boyd, adding that cargo rate increases and fuel surcharges were justified based on rising oil prices in recent years.

Fuel costs accounted for the largest piece of U.S. airlines' operating expenses in the second quarter of 2007 at 25.4 percent, and are expected to represent more than 26 percent of airlines' expenses globally in 2007, according to domestic and international trade groups.

It's unclear if any U.S. carriers eventually will be incriminated in the Justice Department probe. If a domestic airline simply saw its foreign competitors raise rates and did the same "that's not illegal," Boyd said. "But picking up the phone and talking about it is."

Lufthansa Cargo was one of the first to be investigated and cooperated with the authorities for a reduced fine of $85m

The CEO took immediate early retirement "for health reasons"....

Qantas C.E.O Geoff Dixon won't resign
 

I think that more than the CEO should resign. This type of operation is not what Qantas stands for.
Are they working for themselves or the shareholders?
Dixon has just been awarded 1 million shares, for what? Breaking the law again.

So the shareholders have to fork out for this fine? What about the individuals responsible?

I sincerely hope this is just the beginning of this, someone has got to start digging into the goings on with the management of this once proud company.

It's interesting to note that the price fixing has been going on for the last six or so years.

ACCC and ASIC get your acts together and start doing what you're supposed to be doing....having a damned good look into the board and management of Qantas!