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US says probing air passenger fares By Peter Kaplan
1 hour, 39 minutes ago



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday it was investigating possible anticompetitive practices in airline passenger fares and cargo shipments, hours after UK authorities raided British Airways Plc in what was described as a transatlantic probe.


"The antitrust division is investigating the possibility of anticompetitive practices involving surcharges and rates for passenger fares and air cargo shipments," the Justice Department said in a statement.

The statement did not identify which airlines were under investigation and Justice Department officials declined to comment.

Earlier Thursday, British Airways (BA) (BAY.L) said the UK's Office of Fair Trading and the U.S. Justice Department were investigating passenger ticket prices and fuel surcharges. Two BA officials were suspended during the probe.

British authorities said they visited BA's offices on June 13 as part of a civil and criminal investigation into alleged price coordination and that the probe was "at an early stage."

American Airlines (NYSE:AMR - news), United Airlines (Nasdaq:UAUA - news) and Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic (VA.UL) said they were also involved in the probe but were not direct targets.

The four airlines are the only carriers allowed to fly direct between London's Heathrow Airport and the United States under bilateral treaties.

In February, the U.S. Justice Department and the European Union's executive arm raided several airlines on both sides of the Atlantic in a probe involving surcharges on airline cargo shipments