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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| BA pair quit on fuel price probe | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Two British Airways officials on leave of absence since an investigation began into fuel surcharges have resigned. | Two British Airways officials on leave of absence since an investigation began into fuel surcharges have resigned. |
| The UK Office of Fair Trading and the US Department of Justice are looking at claims that BA had been informing other airlines of its fuel surcharge plans. | The UK Office of Fair Trading and the US Department of Justice are looking at claims that BA had been informing other airlines of its fuel surcharge plans. |
| Commercial director Martin George and head of communications Iain Burns left work when the probe began in June. | Commercial director Martin George and head of communications Iain Burns left work when the probe began in June. |
| Mr George said there may have been "inappropriate conversations" in his office over long-haul fuel surcharges. | |
| In a letter to BA chairman Martin Broughton, he added that he was not involved in "such conversations". | |
| Contact took place with a competitor in respect of long-haul passenger fuel surcharges, in breach of the company's compliance policy British Airways statement Q&A: BA investigation | |
| However, he said: "Although the board 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." | |
| Reports have said that a BA executive told a counterpart from rival airline Virgin Atlantic of plans to increase BA's fuel surcharge, and that Virgin then tipped-off the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). | |
| Breach of policy | |
| British Airways has conducted an internal investigation in order to respond to the requests for information made by the regulators. | |
| In a statement issued on Monday it admitted that "contact took place with a competitor in respect of long-haul passenger fuel surcharges, in breach of the company's compliance policy". | |
| It added that it was still assisting the regulators with their investigations. | |
| The OFT said its investigations into British Airways were still continuing. | |
| If found guilty of anti-competitive behaviour, BA could be fined up to 10% of its worldwide sales, which came in at £8.5bn for the year to 31 March. | |
| Last February, BA and a number of other airlines, including Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and SAS, were investigated by the European Commission and US competition authorities. | |
| That inquiry was believed to focus on the area of fuel surcharges and other levies for cargo handling. |