Polar Air Cargo to plead guilty to cargo price fixing

Polar Air Cargo, a subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, said Thursday it reached an agreement with the US Dept. of Justice to plead guilty to antitrust violations related to cargo pricing and pay a $17.4 million fine in installments over five years. Polar becomes the 17th carrier to have pleaded guilty or have agreed to plead guilty in the DOJ's ongoing investigation into air cargo price fixing (ATW Daily News, Aug. 3).

"The agreement is related to shipments from the United States to Australia during the period from January 2000 to April 2003, covering conduct by former employees," AAWH said. The conduct relates to "alleged manipulation…of fuel surcharges and other rate components for air cargo services."

AAWH President and CEO William Flynn noted the charges involve "conduct that began in 2000, almost two years before [Polar was acquired by AAWH]…The matter occurred before [Polar's] emergence from bankruptcy in July 2004." He added that no "current board or senior management were involved in or are implicated in this investigation." The agreement is subject to court approval.