British Airways in price fixing scandal

London, England

British Airways, which is being investigated by the UK and U.S. authorities for alleged price fixing of fuel surcharges, said on Monday its commercial director and head of communications had both resigned.

The firm said Commercial Director Martin George, who had been on a leave of absence since the investigation began in June, had written in a letter to the company that there may have been inappropriate conversations in relation to the surcharges.

"I was not involved in such conversations. Although the board of BA have not found that I have behaved in a dishonest way, I fully recognise my responsibilities as head of department and as a board director," George said in the letter published in a statement by British Airways.

BA said Iain Burns, head of communications, had also resigned.

Britain's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) raided British Airways in June as part of a transatlantic investigation, conducted jointly with U.S. Department of Justice, into an alleged cartel over airfares and surcharges.

American Airlines, United Airlines and Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways have said they were also involved in the probe but were not direct targets.

The four airlines are the only carriers allowed to fly directly between London's Heathrow Airport and the United States under the Anglo-U.S. aviation trade treaty.

The OFT said it visited BA's offices as part of a civil and criminal investigation into alleged price coordination while the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating possible anti-competitive practices in airline passenger fares and cargo shipments.

BA first introduced a fuel levy in May 2004, around the same time as Virgin Atlantic.

The United States and Europe have been in talks aimed at eliminating restrictions on airline services between the two continents under a so-called open skies deal.
Credit: CNN