Alleged cartel activity: air cargo & freight services

Air Canada & Ors v Emerald Supplies Limited & Ors [2015] EWCA Civ 1024


Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
Lord Justice elias, Lady Justice Gloster, Sir Bernard Rix
14 October 2015

Appeals against certain case management and other orders made by Peter Smith J in proceedings brought by some 565 claimant companies against British Airways plc, arising out of an alleged unlawful cartel said to have operated worldwide between 1999 and 2007. The claimants are shippers of air freight who purchased air freight services in various territories worldwide, in virtually all cases acquiring those services indirectly through freight forwarders who contracted directly with the airline concerned. The object of the cartel, it is alleged, was to co-ordinate and fix prices for air cargo services, especially with respect to fuel and security surcharges, thereby distorting competition and inflating prices for those acquiring the services.