Air Cargo

We are counsel in a class action brought on behalf of residents of British Columbia who purchased air cargo shipping services from a number of major air cargo carriers from January 1, 2000 to September 11, 2006. The defendants include many of the major carriers engaged in the air cargo market including carriers operating on European and Asian routes. The class action lawsuits allege that these air cargo carrier defendants participated in an unlawful conspiracy to fix the prices of air cargo shipping services by imposing inflated surcharges for fuel and security, agreeing to prevent discounting on air cargo prices, and agreeing on yields and customer allocations.

The proposed class members in the BC class action include persons who purchased air cargo shipping services directly from the air cargo carrier defendants (this group includes freight forwarders) and persons who purchased services from freight forwarders (this group includes shippers).

Settlement Approval

On February 8, 2021, the BC Court certified a settlement class regarding a settlement entered into with Air Canada and AC Cargo Limited Partnership (collectively “Air Canada”). The Air Canada settlement (the “Air Canada Settlement Agreement”) is subject to Court approval in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec. Hearings to approve the Air Canada Settlement Agreement will be held as follows:

• The Ontario and British Columbia approval motions will take place jointly by video conference on May 21, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. PST / 2:00 p.m. EST.
• The Quebec approval hearing is scheduled for June 8, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. EST.

A settlement was also reached with British Airways PLC (“British Airways”). The British Airways settlement (“British Airways Settlement Agreement”) only requires approval by the Ontario court and will also be heard on May 21, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. PST / 2:00 p.m. EST.

Class Counsel will collectively be requesting that legal fees of up to 25% of the British Airways and Air Canada settlement funds, plus disbursements and applicable taxes, be approved and paid out of the settlement funds.

Plan to Distribute Settlement Funds

Previous settlements were reached with 12 groups of defendants. In 2019, those settlement funds totaling $29,593,307.26 were distributed to eligible settlement class members, less fees, disbursements and a litigation reserve fund.

At the approval motions, the courts will also be asked to approve a second protocol for distributing the current net settlement funds to settlement class members.

The net settlement funds will be distributed in the same manner as in the first distribution. A copy of the proposed distribution protocol is available at www.aircargosettlement2.com.

A copy of the Long Form notices regarding the settlement hearing and proposed distribution process can be found below:

• English Long Form Notice
• French Long Form Notice

Filing a Claim

Another notice will be provided regarding the process for applying to receive settlement funds. In the interim, you should keep copies of all relevant records.

Settlements

The settlements in this action are with the following defendants:

• Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Lufthansa Cargo AG and Swiss International Air Lines Ltd.: $6,243,307.26
• Japan Airlines International Co., Ltd.: $738,000
• Scandinavian Airlines System: $300,000
• Qantas Airways Limited: $237,000
• Cargolux Airline International: $1,800,000
• Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Singapore Airlines Cargo PTE Ltd.: $1,050,000
• Societé Air France and Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.: $6,500,000
• Polar Air Cargo Inc.: $425,000
• LAN Airlines S.A. and LAN Cargo S.A.: $700,000
• Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd.: $4,100,000
• Asiana Airlines Inc.: $1,500,000
• Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.: $6,000,000
• British Airways: $9,000,000
• Air Canada: $7,000,000

If the Air Canada and British Airways Settlement Agreements are approved by the courts, this will resolve the litigation in its entirety.

For further information concerning this action, please contact Sharon Wong at 1-800-689-2322 or 604-689-7555, or email [email protected]

Air Cargo - Status Updates:

New Settlements reached in Air Cargo Class Action - View

Air Cargo – claims information - View

Air Cargo: Settlement with Cathay and Plan to Distribute Settlement Funds - View