High Court grants special leave to appeal.
The High Court of Australia has just granted the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission special leave to appeal the decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court, in relation to allegations that Flight Centre attempted to induce international airlines to enter into price fixing arrangements.
The case was originally decided in the ACCC’s favour, but an appeal by Flight Centre in July last year saw the ruling overturned with the Full Court of the Federal Court finding there was no separate market for distribution and booking services to consumers.
However in this latest twist in the saga the ACCC’s appeal will be considered by the High Court, with ACCC chairman Rod Sims saying the 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”.
More details in Monday’s issue of Travel Daily.