CHICAGO - United Airlines and American Airlines disclosed settlements Wednesday in a class-action lawsuit stemming from an investigation into alleged price collusion among carriers in the air cargo industry.

Unlike Lufthansa AG, which said Monday that it would pay $85 million to settle pending lawsuits in the case, both U.S. carriers said they are not required to make any payments.

But the settlements won't necessarily close the books on their responsibilities. Officials at American, the largest U.S. airline, said that if the Justice Department later brings charges against the carrier as a result of its investigation, the settlement would be off.

More than a dozen airlines have been the subject of an investigation initiated by U.S. and European Union officials into suspected price-fixing in the air cargo industry on surcharges for fuel, security and insurance.

Investigators were quoted earlier this year as saying the surcharges apparently originated among European carriers, with U.S. companies then setting their own charges in line with competitors. For carriers to be hit with criminal charges, prosecutors would have to show that they were actively conspiring, not just following others' price increases.

Tim Smith, spokesman for Fort Worth, Texas-based American, a unit of AMR Corp., said the carrier had been swept into an investigation that appeared centered on European airlines.

"We do have a settlement with some of the plaintiffs, subject to court approval," he said. "It requires no payment at all by American, and we have been told we are not a target of the investigation."

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement with a majority of plaintiffs that will see us dismissed from the civil litigation, pending court approval," said spokesman Brandon Borrman of Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based United, a unit of UAL Corp. and the No. 2 U.S. carrier.

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