An Australian law firm on Feb. 1 filed an AU$200 million (about US$155 million) class-action lawsuit against seven major airlines including Japan Airlines for alleged price fixing. Kim Parker of the Melbourne-based law firm Maurice Blackburn Cashman said the case alleges collusion by the airlines to inflate surcharges over the past seven years.

The surcharges include a security surcharge imposed after the Sep. 11, 2001, terror attacks, a war risk surcharge added during the Iraq war, and fuel surcharges. The airlines named in the action also include Qantas, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Air New Zealand, and British Airways.