The Telegraph reports that British Airways has increased its fuel surcharge for the second time in two months, meaning that a family of four have to pay a £704 on a return long-haul economy flight.
"..BA's fuel surcharge on mid-haul flights is now just £3 less than it was in June 2008, when the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil peaked at $147 a barrel. The price this week rose to $103.."
BA are quoted:
"The move reflects the continuing substantial increase in the price of oil and a 14 per cent rise in the spot price of jet fuel since our last fuel surcharge increase in December 2010."
However, in October 2008 the Telegraph reported the following:
"The cost of fuelling a British Airways’ transatlantic flight can be covered almost entirely by the surcharges paid by its passengers, it has emerged.
Since May, BA has charged passengers between £78 and £98 in fuel surcharges for long-haul flights of less than nine hours. This earns the airline nearly £19,140 from surcharges on a 224-seat Boeing 777 flight from London to New York. The surcharges charged by Virgin are the same.
Airlines have long complained of the high cost of fuelling their planes. But tests by the manufacturer Boeing show that a Boeing 777 carrying 305 passengers – some 80 more than a full BA flight – requires 44 tons of fuel for a London-to-New York flight. This includes luggage and cargo. At today’s current oil prices ($800 a ton) this would cost the airline £20,173 – an amount that is almost covered by the extra fees levied on passengers..."
www.baisshite.com the latest news and views on British Airways, the world's "favourite" airline. This site contains updates on the ongoing strike action, and dispute between BA and Unite.
Showing posts with label surcharge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label surcharge. Show all posts
Saturday, 5 February 2011
Monday, 11 August 2008
Criminal Charges
Three former and one current British Airways executive will be taking the stand in the United Kingdom in September to face charges over their actions in a global price-fixing cartel.
Andrew Crawley current head of sales, Martin George former commercial director, Iain Burns former communications head, and Alan Burnett UK and Ireland sales head, are charged with Price-Fixing, which could see jail terms of up to five years and unlimited fines.
In Britain, the Office of Fair Trading made 'Price-Fixing' a specific criminal charge in 2002. This will be only the second such proceedings of its kind in London.
All four are charged for grievances which took place between 2004 and 2006. All three former execs resigned from the carrier in 2006.
"Four men have today been charged with cartel offences under the Enterprise Act in connection with the OFT's criminal investigation into price-fixing of fuel surcharges for long haul passenger flights," said the Office of Fair Trading in an official statement.
"[They] are charged with having dishonestly agreed with others to make or implement arrangements which directly or indirectly fixed the price for the supply in the United Kingdom of passenger air transport services by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways."
A plea agreement between British Airways and the US Department of Justice which saw the carrier being hit with a US$300 million fine, and immunity refused to ten former and current BA staff.
In this instance, Virgin Atlantic was granted immunity for its actions in the dealings as it was the whistle blower on the case.
The four in the current charge will face a judge on the 24th of September.
Source e-Travel Blackboard
Andrew Crawley current head of sales, Martin George former commercial director, Iain Burns former communications head, and Alan Burnett UK and Ireland sales head, are charged with Price-Fixing, which could see jail terms of up to five years and unlimited fines.
In Britain, the Office of Fair Trading made 'Price-Fixing' a specific criminal charge in 2002. This will be only the second such proceedings of its kind in London.
All four are charged for grievances which took place between 2004 and 2006. All three former execs resigned from the carrier in 2006.
"Four men have today been charged with cartel offences under the Enterprise Act in connection with the OFT's criminal investigation into price-fixing of fuel surcharges for long haul passenger flights," said the Office of Fair Trading in an official statement.
"[They] are charged with having dishonestly agreed with others to make or implement arrangements which directly or indirectly fixed the price for the supply in the United Kingdom of passenger air transport services by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways."
A plea agreement between British Airways and the US Department of Justice which saw the carrier being hit with a US$300 million fine, and immunity refused to ten former and current BA staff.
In this instance, Virgin Atlantic was granted immunity for its actions in the dealings as it was the whistle blower on the case.
The four in the current charge will face a judge on the 24th of September.
Source e-Travel Blackboard
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
Refunds For Overcharging
Passengers who were overcharged during their flight from the United Kingdom to the United States, between 2004 to 2006, are entitled to claim refunds totaling to $139M.
The refunds are due to passengers who flew the Atlantic via BA or Virgin, between August 2004 and March 2006. Passengers were overcharged by the two airlines, when they conspired on fixing fuel surcharges on transatlantic flights.
The refunds range from $2 and $22.50 for each ticket bought in the UK or US. The deadline for submitting a claim is December 31 2012.
It is estimated that around 5.6 million people flew during this period.
Claims may be processed online at www.airpassengerrefund.co.uk.
The refunds are due to passengers who flew the Atlantic via BA or Virgin, between August 2004 and March 2006. Passengers were overcharged by the two airlines, when they conspired on fixing fuel surcharges on transatlantic flights.
The refunds range from $2 and $22.50 for each ticket bought in the UK or US. The deadline for submitting a claim is December 31 2012.
It is estimated that around 5.6 million people flew during this period.
Claims may be processed online at www.airpassengerrefund.co.uk.
Thursday, 21 February 2008
Customer Isn't King
The Independent reports that the long suffering passengers of BA had to endure more misery, aside from the twelfth hike in its fuel surcharge, BA forbade its economy class passengers from checking in luggage Heathrow Terminal 4 owing to a breakdown in the baggage check in system.
Other airlines manually dealt with it, BA chose not to.
BA really needs to understand that its passengers (customers) are going to get fed up with being taken for granted and treated like this.
Other airlines manually dealt with it, BA chose not to.
BA really needs to understand that its passengers (customers) are going to get fed up with being taken for granted and treated like this.
Friday, 15 February 2008
£10 Refunds
Here's an interesting story on the BBC site:
People who flew with British Airways or Virgin Atlantic between 11 August 2004 and 23March 2006 may be entitled to a refund of £10 per flight.
The law firm Cohen Milstein expects to sign an agreement later on Friday in a class action suit with BA and Virgin.
BA was fined by US and UK authorities for price-fixing on fuel surcharges while Virgin also admitted breaching US and UK law but escaped the fines.
BA declined to comment while Virgin could not immediately be reached.
The settlement would cover customers in the UK and the US.
Cohen Milstein estimates that the settlement will be worth about $200m (£100m), £73.5m of which will be set aside to pay claims by passengers who bought tickets in the UK in pounds sterling.
Passengers and businesses that bought tickets would be eligible for refunds of up to £10 for each leg of a journey.
BA was fined £121.5m by the Office of Fair Trading and $300m (£150m) by the US Department of Justice for colluding with Virgin on the level of fuel surcharges that would be added to their ticket prices.
Virgin escaped the fines because it had informed the authorities that the breaches had happened.
People who flew with British Airways or Virgin Atlantic between 11 August 2004 and 23March 2006 may be entitled to a refund of £10 per flight.
The law firm Cohen Milstein expects to sign an agreement later on Friday in a class action suit with BA and Virgin.
BA was fined by US and UK authorities for price-fixing on fuel surcharges while Virgin also admitted breaching US and UK law but escaped the fines.
BA declined to comment while Virgin could not immediately be reached.
The settlement would cover customers in the UK and the US.
Cohen Milstein estimates that the settlement will be worth about $200m (£100m), £73.5m of which will be set aside to pay claims by passengers who bought tickets in the UK in pounds sterling.
Passengers and businesses that bought tickets would be eligible for refunds of up to £10 for each leg of a journey.
BA was fined £121.5m by the Office of Fair Trading and $300m (£150m) by the US Department of Justice for colluding with Virgin on the level of fuel surcharges that would be added to their ticket prices.
Virgin escaped the fines because it had informed the authorities that the breaches had happened.
Friday, 28 December 2007
BA Accused Over Price Fixing
British Airways has been accused of colluding in setting prices of fuel surcharges and other levies in the provision of air freight services.
BA confirmed it received a letter of complaint from European Union regulators, alleging that it was part of a suspected air freight cartel.
The complaints were also sent to Germany's Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and Scandinavia's SAS.
The airlines have the right to respond, but if found guilty, they face fines.
The European Commission that it had sent official letters, known as statements of objection, to a number of air freight firms, concerning "violation of EU rules on restrictive business practices".
Officials did not name the specific airlines involved, but BA, Air France-KLM and SAS confirmed they had each received the European Commission letter.
It follows a lengthy investigation on both sides of the Atlantic dating back to early 2006 to discover whether airlines broke competition law by operating a cartel in the air cargo sector.
But EU officials stressed that the statement of objection did not reflect the final outcome of the investigation.
The airlines have all committed to co-operate fully with the authorities.
Source BBC
BA confirmed it received a letter of complaint from European Union regulators, alleging that it was part of a suspected air freight cartel.
The complaints were also sent to Germany's Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and Scandinavia's SAS.
The airlines have the right to respond, but if found guilty, they face fines.
The European Commission that it had sent official letters, known as statements of objection, to a number of air freight firms, concerning "violation of EU rules on restrictive business practices".
Officials did not name the specific airlines involved, but BA, Air France-KLM and SAS confirmed they had each received the European Commission letter.
It follows a lengthy investigation on both sides of the Atlantic dating back to early 2006 to discover whether airlines broke competition law by operating a cartel in the air cargo sector.
But EU officials stressed that the statement of objection did not reflect the final outcome of the investigation.
The airlines have all committed to co-operate fully with the authorities.
Source BBC
Tuesday, 13 November 2007
BA's Ghost Planes
Having upped fuel surcharges, BA is also flying empty planes across the Atlantic.
The airline industry is truly a law unto itself!
Source Telegraph:
British Airways is shuttling dozens of empty planes across the Atlantic because it has a shortage of cabin crew, it has emerged.
The "phantom" services have been flying between Britain and Canada and the US over the past two weeks in order to retain valuable slots at London's airports.
Several BA passenger flights took off without a single passenger, using up thousands of tonnes of jet fuel.
advertisementThe news emerged as the airline passed on the soaring cost of oil to customers by increasing its fuel surcharge on all flights.
Environmentalists accused the airline of "hypocrisy", saying the strategy underlined the aviation sector's indifference to the fight against global warming.
On Nov 4, BA flight 179 crossed the Atlantic to New York completely empty.
Another passengerless jet, BA flight 176, later flew back from the US to Heathrow airport.
According to ITV News, two further empty planes left Heathrow at the weekend - flights 093 to Toronto and 279 to Los Angeles.
At least two other empty flights - including one from Gatwick to Houston, Texas - have departed in recent days, it was reported.
A spokesman for British Airways admitted the airline had been having problems rostering cabin crew.
"We are trying to minimise disruption to customers," he added.
BA operates the empty services to avoid losing its take-off and landing slots under "use it or lose it" rules at the London airports.
Some of the aircraft are thought to be Boeing 747s, which when full carry between 500 and 600 passengers. Every return flight from London to New York generates about 1.3 tonnes of CO2.
A spokesman from Greenpeace said: "It's pretty outrageous that BA are flying these empty flights half way across the world whilst saying they’re trying to cut down on CO2 emissions.
"They should be setting a leading example. Thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide are being leaked out needlessly just so they can keep their slots."
Meanwhile, BA announced fuel surcharges would go up from £8 to £10 on short-haul flights, while passengers on flights of up to nine hours face a £48 fuel charge – a £10 increase.
BA raised the fuel surcharge on longer flights by £15, adding £58 to the price of a ticket.
Last night the airline said it had no alternative but to increase the cost of air travel, with some speculators prepared to bet on crude oil prices doubling by December next year.
Earlier this year it emerged that BMI, which operates as a British Airways franchise - was also running "ghost planes", between Cardiff and Heathrow.
BMI announced in March that it would scrap the six-times-a-week shuttle when it switched to a new timetable.
The flights were run by British Mediterranean Airways (BMed), a struggling carrier that operates as a British Airways franchise and runs services under the BA brand to destinations including Beirut and Teheran. It was taken over this year by BMI.
The airline industry is truly a law unto itself!
Source Telegraph:
British Airways is shuttling dozens of empty planes across the Atlantic because it has a shortage of cabin crew, it has emerged.
The "phantom" services have been flying between Britain and Canada and the US over the past two weeks in order to retain valuable slots at London's airports.
Several BA passenger flights took off without a single passenger, using up thousands of tonnes of jet fuel.
advertisementThe news emerged as the airline passed on the soaring cost of oil to customers by increasing its fuel surcharge on all flights.
Environmentalists accused the airline of "hypocrisy", saying the strategy underlined the aviation sector's indifference to the fight against global warming.
On Nov 4, BA flight 179 crossed the Atlantic to New York completely empty.
Another passengerless jet, BA flight 176, later flew back from the US to Heathrow airport.
According to ITV News, two further empty planes left Heathrow at the weekend - flights 093 to Toronto and 279 to Los Angeles.
At least two other empty flights - including one from Gatwick to Houston, Texas - have departed in recent days, it was reported.
A spokesman for British Airways admitted the airline had been having problems rostering cabin crew.
"We are trying to minimise disruption to customers," he added.
BA operates the empty services to avoid losing its take-off and landing slots under "use it or lose it" rules at the London airports.
Some of the aircraft are thought to be Boeing 747s, which when full carry between 500 and 600 passengers. Every return flight from London to New York generates about 1.3 tonnes of CO2.
A spokesman from Greenpeace said: "It's pretty outrageous that BA are flying these empty flights half way across the world whilst saying they’re trying to cut down on CO2 emissions.
"They should be setting a leading example. Thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide are being leaked out needlessly just so they can keep their slots."
Meanwhile, BA announced fuel surcharges would go up from £8 to £10 on short-haul flights, while passengers on flights of up to nine hours face a £48 fuel charge – a £10 increase.
BA raised the fuel surcharge on longer flights by £15, adding £58 to the price of a ticket.
Last night the airline said it had no alternative but to increase the cost of air travel, with some speculators prepared to bet on crude oil prices doubling by December next year.
Earlier this year it emerged that BMI, which operates as a British Airways franchise - was also running "ghost planes", between Cardiff and Heathrow.
BMI announced in March that it would scrap the six-times-a-week shuttle when it switched to a new timetable.
The flights were run by British Mediterranean Airways (BMed), a struggling carrier that operates as a British Airways franchise and runs services under the BA brand to destinations including Beirut and Teheran. It was taken over this year by BMI.
Wednesday, 26 September 2007
BA To Be Sued?
An American law firm is encouraging consumers in the UK to claim compensation from companies found guilty of breaking competition rules.
The company's UK branch is looking to sue British Airways and Virgin for hundreds of millions of pounds after they were found guilty of colluding over fuel surcharges.
It's just been given permission to go ahead with a class action against both firms in the US.
While Virgin escaped punishment for alerting authorities about what was going on, British Airways was hit by a record fine of more than a £121m after being found guilty by the Office of Fair Trading. The US Department of Justice imposed another £150m.
Channel 4 News
The company's UK branch is looking to sue British Airways and Virgin for hundreds of millions of pounds after they were found guilty of colluding over fuel surcharges.
It's just been given permission to go ahead with a class action against both firms in the US.
While Virgin escaped punishment for alerting authorities about what was going on, British Airways was hit by a record fine of more than a £121m after being found guilty by the Office of Fair Trading. The US Department of Justice imposed another £150m.
Channel 4 News
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