Flight fight hits $12.5m

AUSTRALIA’S biggest travel agency was fined $12.5 million over a price-fixing plot yesterday, after the ACCC won a six-year legal battle.

Flight Centre tried to stop three international airlines offering cheaper fares through their own websites from 2005 to 2009, the full Federal Court said in a judgment yesterday.

The travel company repeatedly asked Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Emirates to stop undercutting Flight Centre’s prices. The Federal Court fined Flight Centre $12.5 million for five breaches of the Trade Practices Act.