British Airways 'faces £70m fine' over price fixing claims

British Airways could be fined up to 80 million (£70 million) for fixing cargo prices with other carriers, it was claimed today.

The European Commission is expected to announce penalties for BA and fellow carriers including Air France-KLM and SAS on November 9 for taking part in an air freight cartel, a source said.

The airlines were charged in December 2007 following raids on both sides of the Atlantic a year earlier that involved the US Department of Justice.

A source told Reuters: "The Commission is considering a fine of between 60 to 80 million," adding that no final decision has been taken and discussions were continuing.

BA, which declined to comment, lost a record £531 million in the year to March but expects to break even in the full year to March 2011 despite bigger-than-expected first quarter losses after being hit by the impact of volcanic ash and cabin crew strikes.

The EU watchdog has not identifed the targets of its inquiry, but BA, Lufthansa, SAS, Air France-KLM, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, All Nippon Airways, Air Canada and Alitalia all confirmed they had been investigated.

Lufthansa previously said it had immunity as it alerted the Commission to the cartel.

The investigation initially targeted more than 20 carriers, including Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, Cargolux, Malaysia Airlines and Alitalia, but not all are expected to be found guilty.

The Commission can fine companies up to 10% of their global sales for breaching EU rules, but fines rarely reach that level.

BA and Korean Air each paid $300 million (£189 million) in criminal fines in the US price probe in 2007, and Air France-KLM agreed to a $87 million (£54.9 million) US civil anti-trust claims settlement in July.