ABC

The US Justice Department says a former senior Qantas Airways executive will plead guilty and spend time in jail for participating in a price-fixing conspiracy in international air cargo shipments.

Bruce McCaffrey,Qantas's former vice president of freight for the Americas, is the first individual to be charged in a US federal probe of price fixing in international passenger and cargo traffic.

According to the charges filed in US District Court, McCaffrey plotted to fix rates on air cargo shipments charged to US and international customers for six years from January 2000.

Under the plea bargain, McCaffrey has agreed to pay a $21,000 fine and to cooperate with the department's ongoing investigation.

McCaffrey will serve eight months in jail.