BA and Virgin to settle price-fix' claims

Virgin Atlantic and British Airways are poised to settle civil price-fixing claims today in a US court, it is reported.

The Wall Street Journal claims the airlines will offer to pay out US$200m (€136m) to customers who bought tickets from either airline and who flew between August 11, 2004, and March 23, 2006.

The proposed deal was presented yesterday to US District Judge Charles R. Breyer in San Francisco and could be signed today, the newspaper reported.

British Airways was fined more than US$500m (€341m) dollars by US and British authorities for its role in the fuel-surcharge price-fixing case.

Virgin was not fined because it came forward to expose the alleged collusion, which involved other airlines and markets, the paper said.