British Airways Price Fixing Case Set For Court
It has been announced that the Office of Fair Trade (OFT) is set to charge four former British Airways executives for their part in an alleged plot to fix fuel surcharges with Virgin Atlantic between 2004 and 2006. The case has been ongoing for some time and while the company itself has been fined hundreds of millions of pounds by UK and US authorities the prosecution of the four alleged accomplices has surprised some people in the industry.
Those who are already aware of the case will know that in order to be exempt from prosecution, Virgin Atlantic handed over all of the information available about the deal between the two airlines. It seems that without at least one of the parties turning 'Queens Evidence' there would not have been a case to bring to court.
In a bizarre coincidence the UK airline industry is currently receiving some heavy criticism after recent hikes in fuel surcharges to cover the rising cost of fuel. However, while there is no suggestion that there has been any collusion with regards to fuel surcharges this time around, it does show how expensive it is becoming to fly, and the dangers of what may or may not be going on in the industry behind closed doors.
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