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24 August 07
British
Airways £150 million fine approved by US judge
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An American judge has upheld the $300
million (£150 million) fine which needed to be approved after BA had
pleaded guilty to price fixing allegations.
The fine was recommended by the Department of Justice in July, but had
to be formally approved by the judge in Washington.
The UK's national carrier had already been fined by the UK's Office of
Fair Trading (OFT) £121.5m.
The fine was from investigations into the airline from both sides of the
Atlantic regarding fixing the cost of fuel surcharges.
It was found by the OFT that BA had colluded with Virgin Atlantic at
least six times between August 2004 to January 2006. In that
period the cost of the fuel surcharge went up from £5 to £60 per
passenger.
Virgin Atlantic were granted immunity from any fines due to them as they
tipped off the Office of Fair Trading.
British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh defended the airlines
charges by claiming passengers were never overcharged as adding fuel
surcharges to their tickets was, "a legitimate way of recovering
costs".
Useful Websites
British
Airways
Office
of Fair Trading
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