Several hundred companies, including giants such as Philips and Ericsson, are planning to launch a €500m claim against airlines KLM, Martinair and Air France for fixing freight shipment prices as part of a 16-airline cartel, various media report on Wednesday.

The paper says a body named Claims Funding International will submit the claim at the Amsterdam company court on Thursday. According to the Financial Times, it will be the biggest damages claim resulting from a cartel that Europe has ever seen.
CFI wants the airlines to compensate companies for the financial damage caused to companies by the price agreements.
Air France-KLM was fined $350m in the US for price fixing in July and was ordered to pay $87m in compensation to companies. The cartel is said to have operated between 2000 and 2007.
European victims
‘European victims are being ignored. We want to set that right,’ Peter Koutsoukis, of the Ireland-based CFI told the paper.
Freight operators organisation EVO told the Telegraaf hundreds of Dutch firms have signed up to the complaint, as have companies in Britain, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland.
The paper says KLM set aside €530m to pay compensation claims two years ago.