Virgin/BA set to make £100m refund

Friday, 15 February 2008 12:00

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are due to make refunds worth over £100 million to more than eight million customers.

In the first ever collective settlement for British consumers following an investigation into price fixing for transatlantic flights, passengers who bought tickets between August 11th 2004 and March 23rd 2006 will be able to apply for some cash to be refunded.

The case focused on the setting of fuel surcharges by the airlines and the refunds will be the equivalent of a third of the surcharge.

Passengers will be able to apply for some of their ticket money back from 19:00 today at www.virginbapassengerrefund.com or 0800 0430 343.

Customers without relevant ticket numbers should still be able to claim some cash, by leaving their name and address.

A family of four could be expected to claim £40 back on a return flight.

Anthony Maton, a partner at law firm Cohen Milstein, which brokered the deal, said: "This is a great victory for UK consumers that creates a template for vindicating UK consumers' rights and deterring violations of UK competition law."

Michael Hausfeld, senior partner at Cohen Milstein, added: "This is the first time non-US citizens have been rewarded on an equal footing to US citizens in a case before the US courts, making this a legal precedent and a significant milestone in both US and UK legal history."

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