Four BA execs to go on trial for price-fixing

Global - Four senior British Airways executives have been summoned to appear in court due to their alleged involvement in price-fixing of fuel surcharges. If guilty, the four could face up to five years in jail.

The four men facing charges are British Airways' head of sales Andrew Crawley, ex-commercial director Martin George, former communications head Iain Burns and former UK and Ireland sales chief Alan Burnett.

Burnett retired in 2006 while George and Burns have since resigned.

The court hearings, administered by The Office of Fair Trading, will proceed next month with Crawley and George due to appear before the City of London Magistrates Court on 24 September. All four men could face a prison sentence of a maximum of five years if found guilty.

To date, British Airways has been fined US$232m by The Office of Fair Trading for colluding with Virgin Atlantic on fuel surcharges of a minimum of six times for the period between 2004 and 2006. British Airways has also been fined US$300m by the US Department of Justice over similar charges.

The scandal has affected 11 million of British Airways' customers, but passengers who travelled with the airlines between August 2004 and March 2006 can apply for a refund worth about one-third of the fuel surcharge.

The carrier's cargo arm announced on 7 August a reduction to its fuel surcharge, effective 21 August. The new charges will be US$1.30 down from the current US$1.35

Adam Carson, BA World Cargo's senior manager revenue management, said, "High fuel prices remain a very real challenge for the industry. However, recent weeks have seen some relief with prices falling, triggering a decrease in our fuel surcharge".