| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 22/05/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 3 |
| Copyright: Other |
BA liable for £5m after PSC appeal rejected
BRITISHAirways is liable for a £5m claim from agents after a Court of Appeal ruling has said that it must pay commission on the passenger service charge.The ruling, made in November last year at the High Court, declared the separating out of PSC from commission payments to be illegal.
BA, Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa’s appeal against the ruling was thrown out last Tuesday.
The three carriers, and other airlines which have not been paying commission on PSC, will have to compensate agents for lost revenue.
Claims go back to April 1 last year when BA started to separate PSC from the main ticket price and therefore did not pay commission on it.
A BA spokesman said that the airline will have to pay about £5m in compensation while Virgin claimed its bill will be approximately £100,000.
ABTA head of legal affairs Riccardo Nardi said the verdict was an excellent victory.
Agents seeking a claim can contact ABTA’s legal department on 020-7307 1908/1957/1958.
Nardi: “excellent verdict”