BA executives on trial for alleged price fixing
Millions of airline passengers paid inflated ticket charges after British Airways and Virgin Atlantic secretly rigged prices, a court has heard.
The rival carriers allegedly conspired to fix passenger fuel surcharges to rake in hundreds of millions of pounds in a desperate bid to cover soaring oil prices.
Senior executives at the two airlines were said to have hammered out the deals during secret telephone calls, telling each other, ‘This is a conversation we aren’t going to have.’
The controversial surcharges proved lucrative for both carriers. BA took £64 million in the first year and its forecasts showed it hoped to make £201 million as it increased the charges.
The alleged cartel ran for almost two years, between July 2004 and April 2006, and affected millions of long-haul passengers.
The alleged cartel came unstuck in March 2006 when Virgin turned whistle-blower in exchange for immunity from prosecution, London’s Southwark Crown Court heard.
BA’s head of sales Andrew Crawley, ex-commercial director Martin George, ex-communications head Iain Burns and ex-UK and Ireland sales chief Alan Burnett all deny the charges.
Virgin executives are immune from prosecution as they blew the whistle on the price-fixing agreement.
The trial is expected to last for a number of months.
Phil Davies
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
In Italy, the Meloni government congratulates itself for its tourism achievements
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive