BA executives to face court on price-fixing

Four past and present British Airways executives are due to appear in court next month over price-fixing on fuel surcharges.

And the quartet could face imprisonment over the charges which are due to be announced later today by the Office of Fair Trading.

UK and US authorities have already fined BA a total of around £270m (€340m) over the fuel surcharge offences which took place between August 2004 and January 2006.

The four are BA head of sales Andrew Crawley, former commercial director Martin George, former communications head Iain Burns and former UK and Ireland sales chief Alan Burnett.

Mr George and Mr Burns resigned from BA in 2006, while Mr Burnett retired in the same year.

A spokesman at City of London magistrates court said today: “A Burnett, I Burns, A Crawley and M George are listed to appear here on September 24 in an Office of Fair Trading prosecution.”

The four are part of a group of 10 past and present BA staff who have been refused immunity under a plea agreement between the airline and the US Department of Justice (DoJ) over the price-fixing.

The OFT fined BA £121.5m (€153m) for colluding with Virgin Atlantic Airways on fuel surcharges on at least six occasions in the period 2004-06.

Virgin was granted immunity after bringing the matter to the attention of the OFT.

BA was also fined US$300m (€189m) by the DoJ. In February this year, BA and Virgin agreed to settle a US class-action lawsuit which a firm representing plaintiffs said could see the two carriers paying more than £100m (€126m) to passengers affected by the price-fixing.

BA has said that about 11 million passengers, including seven million in the UK, were affected.

BA chief executive Willie Walsh said earlier this year that “any anti-competitive behaviour is to be condemned at BA or at other companies”.