The Commission slapped Qantas with an $127,271 penalty for "participating in collusive behaviour with other airlines".

The Commission also fined another 18 airlines, including British Airways, for being part of a cartel that fixed fuel surcharges on cargo routes.

This is the fourth occasion in a little over two-and-a-half years that the once iconic Australian air-line carrier has suffered a dent to its reputation after receiving fines for anti-competitive behaviour in four jurisdictions.

Qantas was fined US$61 million ($71.6 million) by the US Justice Department in November 2007 for price fixing in the air freight industry. The airline carrier's former vice-president of freight for the Americas, Bruce McCaffrey, was jailed for six months the following year.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission fined Qantas $20 million in late 2008 for breaching price-fixing rules between 2002 and 2006, while Canadian authorities fined the company over $150,000 for breaches over the same time period.