The European Commission charged the carriers in December 2007 with taking part in an air freight cartel, following raids on both sides of the Atlantic a year earlier that also involved the U.S. Department of Justice.
The EU watchdog did not identify the targets of the probe, but BA, Lufthansa, SAS, Air France-KLM, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Air Canada and Alitalia all confirmed they had been investigated.
"A commission decision is expected on Nov. 9," said one of the sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia is expected to announce the fines at a news conference that day.
Another source said that fines would be substantial, but that the total was unlikely to top the 1.38 billion euro ($1.92 billion) penalty slapped on a cartel of car glassmakers in 2008, due to the large number of leniency applicants, and defence arguments citing the effects of the credit crisis.
The source said continuing debate within the commission on the size of the fines could delay the decision.
A date has not been set for the decision, said Amelia Torres, EU spokeswoman for competition matters.
It would be "extremely unlikely" that companies arguing their inability to pay due to the crisis would be able to convince the commission, one of the sources said.
Lufthansa previously said it told the commission about the cartel and therefore would not face a fine.
The probe initially targeted more than 20 carriers, including Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, Cargolux, Malaysia Airlines and Alitalia, but not all are expected to be found guilty.
The commission can penalise companies up to 10 percent of their global sales for breaching EU rules, but fines rarely reach that level.
BA and Korean Air each paid $300 million in criminal fines in the U.S. price probe in 2007; Air France-KLM agreed to a $87 million U.S. civil antitrust claims settlement in July. (Reuters)
