2 Airlines Fined $300M Each for Price Fixing

British Airways and Korean Air socked with $300M fines in ongoing investigation

(NEWSER) - British Airways and Korean Air have agreed to plead guilty and pay $300 million each in criminal fines for engaging in massive conspiracies to fix the prices of passenger and cargo flights for the past six years, the US Justice Department said yesterday. BA will pony up another $247million fine to the UK government for discussing fuel surcharges with rival Virgin Atlantic Airways. More»

(NEWSER) - Air fares as low as $13 across the Atlantic are being promised as Ryanair, Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier, challenges the major players—British Airways and Virgin Atlantic—to a price war. Other budget airlines, like Southwest and JetBlue, are expected to jump into the fray, the London Times reports. More»

Price-fixing lawsuit focuses on wrong targets: David Carr

(NEWSER) - When the Justice Department decided to take on "the monopolistic monolith that threatened to dominate the book industry," it chose the wrong targets —five large publishers plus minor e-book player Apple—while ignoring the all-powerful Amazon, writes a dumbfounded David Carr in the New York Times . "That’s the modern equivalent of taking on Standard Oil but breaking up Ed’s Gas ’N’ Groceries on Route 19 instead." The DOJ's price-fixing lawsuit will keep e-book competition alive ... by basically helping Amazon squash the other players and once again reign supreme. More»

False alarm panics people on British Airways flight

(NEWSER) - It's 3am and you're snoozing on an overnight flight to London when a message plays over the PA: This plane may be about to crash. That's what happened to passengers on a British Airways flight from Miami last week, before the cabin crew told everyone it had just been a mistake, the Telegraph reports. "An alarm sounded and we were told we were about to land in the sea. I thought we were going to die," said a passenger. "My wife was crying and passengers were screaming." More»

Industry makes vow to UN ahead of Copenhagen summit

(NEWSER) - The airline industry is pledging to cut carbon emissions by 50% in 2050, reports the Guardian, in a reluctant concession meant to stave off more dramatic action—but one that will likely increase fares and trigger a race for new, greener technology. The plan will be presented at the UN today and will be on the agenda at the critical climate change summit in Copenhagen this December. Beyond the emissions promise, the airlines are pledging 100% carbon-neutral growth by 2020 and entry into a global carbon trading scheme by next year. More»