LAN Cargo S.A., Aerolinhas Brasileiras and EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd have agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to fix air freight prices, according to the US Justice Department. The three companies will pay criminal fines totaling $124.7 million. LAN Cargo and Aerolinhas Brasileiras, which is substantially owned by LAN Cargo, will pay a combined fine of US$109 million while EL AL will pay a US$15.7 million fine, the Justice Department said. All three airlines agreed to cooperate with US prosecutors, who have collected more than US$1 billion in criminal fines from an ongoing probe of price-fixing for air cargo shipments. LAN Cargo and Aerolinhas Brasileiras S.A. were charged with conspiring to fix prices for fresh flowers, heavy equipment and other goods between February 2003 and February 2006. Prosecutors said that EL AL’s participation in the conspiracy lasted from about January 2003 until at least February 2006. The Justice Department, which investigated more than 30 international airlines, said 12 airlines had agreed to plead guilty to price fixing as part of the investigation and would pay more than US$1 billion in criminal fines. Three executives have agreed to plead guilty and had been sentenced to serve a total of 20 months in jail.