Three former executives of British Airways, along with the company’s Head of Sales, appeared in court last Wednesday on accusations of price-fixing.

Andrew Crawley, the Head of Sales at British Airways currently, along with three former executives, showed up in the City of London Magistrates Court in order to confirm their names, addresses, and ages. The three executives include: Martin George, the former Commercial Director; Iain Burns, the former Head of Communications; and Alan Burnett, the former Head of Sales in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The executives didn’t enter a plea, which is something that happens often with cases such as this that are anticipated to be complex. The four were released with unconditional bail until they are due to reappear at Southwark crown court in January.

This makes only the second occurrence where the Office of Fair Trading has used the Enterprise Act in order to bring company executives to court for price-fixing. The four executives face as many as 5 years of jail each if they are convicted of conspiring with Virgin Atlantic in order to fix surcharges from 2004 to 2006.

The executives of Virgin Atlantic have avoided going to court for the case, due to the carrier acting as the whistle blower. British Airways has also had to pay fines amounting to £270 million because of the case, while both of the carriers have had to give up millions as compensation to the individuals and companies that paid the fixed surcharges during those 2 years.

Get more information about British Airways at: www.britishairways.com