British Airways and Virgin Atlantic today agreed to a class action settlement for passengers in the United States and United Kingdom who paid fuel surcharges between Aug. 11, 2004, and March 23, 2006.
Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, the law firm that led the lawsuit, said passengers who flew during that time "overpaid for their airline tickets because the airlines illegally agreed to increase the amount of the 'fuel surcharge' they added to the ticket price."
The firm said 8 million U.S. and U.K. customers are entitled to cash settlements. Through the settlement announced today, British Airways and Virgin are making available a total of $59 million for U.S. passengers and £73.5 million for U.K. passengers who were subject to fuel surcharges paid during the timeframe.
British Airways last August got hit with fines on both sides of the Atlantic, as the U.K. Office of Fair Trading and U.S. Department of Justice fined the carrier more than $540 million (£266 million) after it admitted to "collusion over the price of long-haul passenger fuel surcharges" with rival Virgin Atlantic between August 2004 and January 2006. OFT and DOJ granted Virgin immunity from fines since the carrier was the first to give "full details" in relation to the "cartel conduct." DOJ, however, said the carrier is "obligated to pay restitution to U.S. victims
(BTNonline, Aug. 13, 2007)."
Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll today said it would launch a Web site (www.virginbapassengerrefund.com) through which passengers and businesses can gain their refunds. The firm said the refund amounts will "depend on the amount of the surcharge paid," but will be up to "£10 (about $20) for each flight segment."
John Caldwell, president of consulting firm Caldwell Associates, said, "It's a lot easier said than done to get these monies back" for businesses. "It depends on how it was paid," Caldwell said. "If it was paid by central billing for the company, then they ought to get it back centrally. If it was paid by individual travelers, who were reimbursed, then they'll likely have to get it back through their employees." Though the number of flight segments on British Airways and Virgin Atlantic over a two-year period could yield significant returns for many companies, "It's going to be a question of whether the juice is worth the squeeze," Caldwell said.