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BA anti-trust ruling over agent incentives upheld
A £4.7 million fine levied against British Airways by EU antitrust regulators for using a system that locked travel agents into selling more of its tickets at the expense of its rivals has been upheld.
The European Union’s Court of Justice rejected an appeal by the airline, saying it was “in part inadmissable and in part unfounded”, the Associated Press reported.
The court said the lower EU Court of First Instance ruling in 2003 “did not make any error of law.” In December 2003, the EU court found BA guilty of abusing its dominant position in the market for air travel services.
It said BA’s system of paying UK agents a basic commission for selling its tickets plus a performance bonus based on the growth of annual BA ticket sales was unfair because it locked agents into selling more BA tickets at the expense of other airlines.
BA had appealed a 1999 antitrust fine issued by the European Commission at the EU courts over its marketing practices.
Virgin Atlantic has complained to EU regulators about the selling practices of its main rival.
Virgin said it was “delighted” that the court had upheld the decision and that BA had lost its final appeal after having been found guilty of operating anti-competitive incentives with the travel trade.
BA said: “We are disappointed by the decision, however, we changed our incentive arrangements to comply with the Commission decision back in 1999.”
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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