On April 19, 2012, the UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has announced its decision that British Airways (BA) and Virgin Atlantic Airways (VAA) engaged in anti-competitive practices in relation to the pricing of passenger fuel surcharges, and has imposed a fine of GBP 58.5 million on BA. VAA brought the matter to the OFT’s attention and, under the OFT’s leniency policy, has not been fined.The OFT has concluded that between August 2004 and January 2006, BA and VAA co-ordinated their surcharge pricing on long-haul flights to and from the UK through the exchange of pricing and other commercially sensitive information. This decision brings the OFT’s investigation to a conclusion.Source: OFT press release 33/12 of 19 April 2012
