High Court of Australia to hear Flight Centre price fixing dispute

COMPANY’S $11 million price fixing dispute with the competition watchdog is heading all the way to the High Court.

Singapore airline Silk Air flies its inaugural flight from Singapore the Cairns, a direct service that will be flying to the north Queensland holiday hotspot three days a week. The first plane lands at Cairns Airport from its overnight flight from Singapore. PICTURE: BRENDAN RADKE.

FLIGHT Centre’s $11 million price fixing dispute with the competition watchdog is headed for the High Court.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has been granted leave to appeal the Federal Court’s decision to overturn a ruling against the retailer, which the ACCC accuses of breaching the Trade Practices Act.

At issue is Flight Centre’s practice between 2005 and 2009 of insisting that airlines did not offer prices directly to travellers that were lower than those available on its website.

Last year, Flight Centre successfully appealed a 2013 Federal Court decision that it had breached the Act, winning a refund of the ACCC’s $11 million penalty, plus interest.

Now the High Court has agreed to hear the ACCC’s appeal against that decision.

In overturning the earlier ruling against Flight Centre, the Federal Court had found that there was no separate market for flight ticket distribution and booking services, and that the retailer therefore was not operating in competition with the airlines.

This finding will be reviewed by the High Court.

“This case raises important issues for the application of competition laws in Australia in the future, as online offers are increasingly being made directly to consumers by both agents and their principals,” said ACCC Chairman Rod Sims.

—With AAP

Originally published as High Court of Australia to hear Flight Centre price fixing dispute