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BA could face cartel fine up to €80m

The British Airways could be fined up to €80m ($112m) next month for fixing cargo prices with other carriers, a source with direct knowledge of the case said on Tuesday.

The European Commission charged BA, Air France-KLM, SAS and several other airlines in December 2007 with taking part in an air freight cartel.

The EU watchdog is expected to announce penalties for the carriers on Nov. 9, several sources have told Reuters.

The charges followed raids on both sides of the Atlantic a year earlier that also involved the U.S. Department of Justice.

"The Commission is considering a fine of between 60 to €80m," the source said, adding that no final decision has been taken and discussions are continuing.

A European Commission spokeswoman described the figure as speculation.

BA, which declined to comment, lost a record £531m in the year to March 2010 but expects to break even in the full year to March 2011 despite bigger-than-expected first quarter losses due to the impact of volcanic ash and strikes.

Shares in the company were trading at 279 pence on Tuesday afternoon, about 1.7% down on the day.

Lufthansa blew whistle

The Commission has not identified the targets of its probe, but BA, Lufthansa, SAS, Air France-KLM, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Air Canada and Alitalia all confirmed they had been investigated.

Lufthansa previously said it had immunity as it alerted the Commission to the cartel.

The probe initially targeted more than 20 carriers, including Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, Cargolux, Malaysia Airlines and Alitalia, but not all are expected to be found guilty.

The Commission can fine companies up to 10% of their global sales for breaching EU rules, but fines rarely reach that level.

BA and Korean Air each paid $300m in criminal fines in the U.S. price probe in 2007; Air France-KLM agreed to a $87m US civil antitrust claims settlement in July.

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