4 Airlines to Pay $504M in Near Record Price-Fixing Payout

Four international airlines have agreed to pay $504 million to settle charges they conspired to drive up air cargo rates.

The Justice Department says the antitrust settlement is one of the largest in history, the Associated Press reports. Air France-KLM will pay $350 million, while the rest will be paid by Cathay Pacific Airways, Martinair Holland and SAS Cargo Group.

Executives from the airlines are accused of meeting here and abroad to fix prices in a scheme that raised air cargo rates and fuel charges for businesses shipping goods in and out of the United States. The settlement announced today is the latest in a series of air cargo settlements totaling $1.2 billion.