BA marketer denies price-fixing charge
British Airways sales and marketing director Andrew Crawley has appeared at London’s Southwark Crown Court alongside former executives of the airline to face charges of alleged price fixing.
Also in court were former British Airways commercial director Martin George, former head of communications Iain Burns and former head of UK and Ireland sales Alan Burnett.
All four pleased not guilty to the direct charges that they were involved in a price fixing cartel between 2004 and 2006 regarding fuel surcharges in collusion with rival airline Virgin Atlantic.
The charge was made under the Enterprise Act and carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment or an unlimited fine.
BA and Virgin Atlantic have already agreed to repay an estimated six million customers up to £20 per return flight. BA has already paid more than £270m in fines from the Office of Fair Trading and the US Department of Justice, including another case involving cargo fuel surcharges.
The case came to court after Virgin Atlantic reported the issue to the Office of Fair Trading. The start of the trial is set down for January 10 2010.
