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.
Share this..
Related stories
Negative equity threat to 1.2 million in UK
The Bank of England has revealed that 1.2 million home owners in the UK will be at serious risk of moving into negative equity before the ongoing credit crunch is at an end. While this figure is even higher than the most pessimistic of reports over the last few months it could get even worse before we start to see any improvement.
Those who are unlucky enough to fall into negative...
Bernard Madoff receives 150 year jail sentence
US investment manager Bernard Madoff is today reeling after receiving a 150 year jail sentence in relation to his investment affairs. He recently pleaded guilty to 11 counts of fraud and other associated acts which resulted in billions of pounds of investor's money disappearing down the drain. While there is no doubt that US regulators are looking to make a point by sentencing him to 150 years in...
Read MoreOver 50s jargon buster
It’s easy to get bogged down by technical terms and abbreviations when trying to research what type of insurance is best for you. Here at financialadvice.co.uk, we have asked our insurance experts to put together a handy jargon buster which focuses on over 50s life insurance, but also talks about what other types of insurance options are open to you. Don’t forget, if you have a financial quest...
Read MoreRecord £63 million compensation bill lands on nPower mat
UK energy giant nPower has this week been hit with a £63 million compensation bill in relation to errors in the company's computerised billing system in 2007. It is believed that as a consequence of these errors a number of gas customers were charged for fuel which they did not use with the situation only coming to light some time later. So what has nPower agreed to do? The company has agreed...
Read MoreAnalysts believe taxpayers will benefit from banking bailout
A number of prominent analysts in the UK have joined forces to suggest that the UK government could eventually make a profit of around £27 billion from the taxpayer-funded bailouts of Lloyds Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland. Even though it could take up to five years to crystallise the forecast profits on the massive investment but if indeed a £27 billion profit is crystallised then surely this w...
Read More