Two British carriers to settle price-fixing suit

A federal judge on Friday preliminarily approved an agreement by two British-based airlines to pay about $210 million to settle a massive price-fixing lawsuit that accused the carriers of colluding to gouge transatlantic passengers with fuel surcharges.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer granted tentative approval for British Airways and Virgin Atlantic to refund one-third of the surcharge paid by each of the airlines’ passengers from Aug. 11, 2004, to March 23, 2006. Breyer scheduled a hearing Sept. 12 to make his decision permanent.

The class-action lawsuit represents 5.1 million passengers who bought tickets in Britain and 2.1 million passengers who purchased tickets in the United States.

British Airways last year paid nearly $550 million to U.S. and British officials and pleaded guilty to price fixing after admitting to conspiring with Virgin. Virgin wasn’t fined or charged because it turned itself in to U.S. and British officials in March 2006. Criminal investigations were also launched on both sides of the Atlantic.

The U.S. Department of Justice has been investigating price-fixing allegations throughout the industry over the last several years.

Japan Airlines agreed last week to plead guilty and pay a $110-million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix rates for international cargo shipments. Korean Air and Qantas have also agreed recently to pay multimillion-dollar fines.