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The European Commission suspects the largest air carriers in Eurasia of price fixing

Several of the largest air carriers in Asia and Europe immediately came to the attention of the antimonopoly authorities of the European Union. Yesterday it became known that the European Commission began to investigate the activities of the cargo divisions of the Japanese airline Japan Airlines (JAL) and the South Korean Korean Air and Asiana Airlines - they are suspected of colluding with European and American partners to set fixed prices for cargo transportation, AP reports.

The circumstances of the case have not yet been disclosed. The authorities' comments have so far been released in a very condensed form. For example, the official statement from the EU watchdog only says: “The Commission has every reason to believe that the companies concerned have violated the treaty, which prohibits the practice of fixed prices.” The commission's statement also said that the actions taken are only one of the attempts to expose the cartel of conspirators, and there is not yet sufficient reason to point the finger at those who have come under suspicion. Representatives of the department are only looking closely at which companies should be included in the list of conspirators. “The fact that the European Commission carries out relevant inspections does not mean that these companies have violated competition rules or that charges will be brought against them,” the commission said in a statement.

JAL employees said European antitrust officials searched the company's Frankfurt office yesterday. The day before, law enforcement officers represented by the American Department of Justice and the FBI appeared at the New York branch of JAL, located at the airport. Kennedy. "Our company is fully cooperating with law enforcement agencies," JAL spokesman Steve Perlman said.

Local authorities for combating economic crimes began to study the papers of South Korean companies.

Representative offices of several major European airlines have also been subject to inspections by EU regulators. Last Tuesday, surprise visits were made to the offices of British Airways, Air France, KLM, Lufthansa and Luxembourg's Cargolux. “To be honest, we were surprised because this is all a very cumbersome procedure,” company president Marc Baudelaire commented to Reuters on the appearance of regulators at the offices of Air France Cargo. The group of suspected American monopolists included American Airlines and United Airlines. Wines from Lan Chile, Cathay Pacific and Polar Air are also expected, the agency said.

Denis UVAROV