BA fined record 121.5 million pounds over price fixing

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2007

LONDON (AFP) — British Airways has been fined a record 121.5 million pounds (180 million euros, 246 million dollars) after admitting collusion over fuel surcharges on tickets, a financial watchdog said Wednesday.

But Virgin Atlantic escaped punishment because it cooperated with the inquiry, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said in a statement.

The BA fine was the watchdog's highest ever penalty for infringements of competition law.

In a separate statement, British Airways said it had entered into a plea agreement with the US Department of Justice "on fines relating to anti-competitive activity in the company's long-haul passenger and cargo businesses."

The DoJ is to reveal its penalties for BA also on Wednesday.

"The sum of the combined (OFT...