The global anti-trust investigation that continues to rock the air cargo industry as carrier after carrier is hauled up for their alleged roles in what is being portrayed as a global price fixing cartel, has found its first individual player.
Bruce McCaffrey, who was formerly the vice-president in charge of freight operations in the US for Qantas, has been sentenced to eight months imprisonment and fi ned US$21,000 by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) for his involvement in the price fixing cartel.
McCaffrey is one of six past and present employees of the airline – euphemistically known as the ‘Qantas Six’, who have been charged over the scandal, which is thought to have run for six years starting in 2000 and is the first individual to be sentenced regarding the cartel.
McCaffrey, who ran Qantas’ Australia-US cargo route for 20 years, entered a plea bargain with the authorities. He could have faced up to a US$1.06 million fi ne and up to 10 years imprisonment. According to the case, he was involved with “meetings, conversations and communications in the US and elsewhere to discuss the cargo rates to be charged on certain routes to and from the US”.
The remaining five Qantas personnel include: Stephen Cleary, group general manager for freight in Sydney, Harold Pang, general manager for freight sales in Singapore, Peter Frampton, former group general manager for freight, John Cooper former general manager for freight sales employee. All were charged after being exempt from immunity granted in a plea bargain by Qantas in which the airline paid a US$61 million fine.
The cartel, who are accused of keeping prices on air freight shipments artificially high, is said to involve nearly thirty airlines. As well as Qantas, Japan Airlines, British Airways, Korean Air and Lufthansa have all had their involvement confirmed.
More than 30 airlines are alleged to have been involved in the cartel including Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific. In April, Japan Airlines was fined US$110 million after pleading guilty and last August, British Airways and Korean Air also pleaded guilty and were each fined US$300 million.
Whistleblower, Lufthansa has been granted conditional immunity from fines for admitting its role and being the first to co-operate with authorities.