The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd
(ASX:FLT) has lost an appeal in the High Court, which was brought against it by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The Court decision states the travel agency breached competition laws when it approached Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Emirates, and threatened to stop selling their flight tickets.
It was found that Flight Centre tried to induce those airlines to stop selling tickets at a cheaper price than what it could offer.
The question before the High Court was whether Flight Centre and the airlines were even competitors in the same market, and the answer was ‘yes’ – and therefore, the travel agency was found to have breached competition laws.
The court ordered the case to be remitted back to the Federal Court to determine the appropriate penalty against Flight Centre.
Flight Centre posted a net profit of $244.6 million at 30 June 2016.
