The Norwegian Supreme Court has ordered an airline to pay damages after it was found guilty of stealing strategic information from one of its competitors. The court threw out an appeal by Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) and ordered the carrier to cough up NOK 160 million (USD 27.3 million).
SAS was originally sentenced on 16th March this year but appealed the guilty verdict at the Supreme Court. Two lower courts found the airline had unlawfully gained access to Norwegian Air’s strategic plan through the Amadeus booking system.
Aside from the damages, SAS will also have to stump up almost NOK 14 million (USD 2.4 million) in costs, plus interest, to be paid to the Norwegian courts. Norwegian Air was also awarded a further NOK 637,600 (USD 109,200) due to SAS’s failed appeal.
In a separate incident, SAS was fined EUR 40 million by the European Commission in 2001 for its part in a cartel case involving Maersk Air. An illegal agreement between the two carriers saw SAS enjoy a monopoly on the Copenhagen to Stockholm route.