Virgin Airlines and Price Fixing:
From this weekend, Virgin Airlines are being forced to run an advertising campaign explaining how customers can claim compensation, after they were found guilty of Price Fixing with British Airways.
The national press, Sunday broadcasts, key travel trade press and online travel sites, international business media and regional media will carry the adverts.
It will highlight that from July 14, claims forms will be sent to customers whose contact details are held by BA and Virgin and those that have already registered online.
BA were fined nearly £150m by the US Justice Department, only hours after a £121.5m fine was levied by the Office of Fair Trading. But Virgin Atlantic escaped a fine so far, because it was given immunity after reporting BA’s actions.
The price fixing collusion with Virgin, raised ticket pries by 1,000% in two years using the tactic of fuel surcharges.
The US law firm Cohen Milstein (acting on behalf of both individual and business consumers) won approval from the US court to force the airlines to finance the advertising campaign to alert customers of their rights to claim.
If if one was cynical, would one think that after 2 years of the scam, that Virgin decide to grass up BA for the immunity? With nio fine to pay and only a handful of compensation claims likely t come though, how many millions did this price fixing collusion add to Richard Branson’s millions?
Would you still choose to fly Virgin Airlines?
