Burlingame firm nets millions in airlines suit

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Feb 19, 2008 | by Tim Simmers

Burlingame _ British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have agreed to a $200-million settlement in a class-action lawsuit accusing them of price-fixing, according to a Burlingame law firm that was co-lead counsel in the case.

The airlines were accused of inflating fuel surcharges on passengers of long-haul flights, and it could affect thousands of Bay Area travelers, attorney Joseph W. Cotchett said Tuesday.

"Unfortunately, millions of air passengers were overcharged because of the price-fixing activity of the airlines," said Cotchett, of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy. "This settlement will serve as a wake-up call to all members of the worldwide transportation industry that they cannot use inflated fuel or other surcharges to illegally overcharge consumers or enhance their profits." The airlines were alleged to have fixed the prices of surcharges between Aug. 11, 2004 and March 23, 2006 on flights between the United Kingdom and San Francisco International Airport.

Cotchett said other airlines have paid close attention to the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The suit was one of the first of its kind in which foreign consumers were allowed to bring suits under U.S. antitrust laws.

Cotchett said he has filed another class-action suit accusing air carriers that fly trans-Pacific routes of similar price fixing. Airlines named in the lawsuit include China Airlines, Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines, United Airlines, Air New Zealand, Malaysia Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Qantas Airways, All Nippon Airways, Northwest Airlines, Eva Airways and Thai Airways.

This second suit targets West Coast flights from SFO, Los Angeles and Seattle. It will affect more passengers than the British Airways/ Virgin Atlantic suit, perhaps as many as 8 million passengers, including 200,000 to 300,000 in the Bay Area, Cotchett said.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic's fuel charges for round- trip passengers in 2004 were about $10 per ticket. By 2006, they had risen to more than $100 a ticket. Fuel surcharges are legal, but only to compensate for the rising cost of jet fuel. The settlement calls for British Airways to pay $136 million, of which $47 million will go to resolve the claims of U.S. consumers and $89 million will go to the resolution of U.K. claims.

Virgin Atlantic will pay $67 million _ $12 million for U.S. claims and $55 million for U.K. claims.

Passengers who flew between the U.K. and SFO during the period outlined in the suit and believe they're eligible for a refund should visit www.airpassengerrefund.com.

Tim Simmers can be reached at (650) 348-4361 or at akinney@bayareanewsgroup.com.