Virgin Atlantic has strongly rebuffed claims that it has been involved in price fixing activities, as the Office of Fair Trading gives the airline a chance to defend itself. The OFT is icurrently nvestigating claims that Virgin Atlantic and rival airline Cathay Pacific have been involved in price-fixing. The allegations concern the London to Hong Kong route, and the allegations that employees of both airlines may have been swapping sensitive information about how they were charging customers who flew on the route.

Cathay Pacific has bought the matter to the attention of the OFT. This means that even if both airlines are found guilty of exchanging commercial information, Cathay Pacific will be immune from prosecution. The OFT has a leniency policy which means that any company which admits that it has been involved in potentially illegal cartel activities will not be prosecuted, as long as it offers continued support to investigators.

Senior director of cartels and criminal enforcement at the OFT, Ali Nikpay, said that the exchange of information about pricing strategies was potentially damaging to competition. He said that neither airline is being told that they have broken the law yet, and that both now have the opportunity to respond to the allegations.

Virgin Atlantic said that it is determined to defend itself against the charges. The airline said that at no point did it believe that it had ever behaved in a way that would have a negative effect on its passengers. It also pointed out the fact that the allegations were to do with a period of time between 2002 and 2006, and were therefore historical.

Virgin Atlantic has been in a similar situation before when it revealed that it had shared information with British Airways about pricing. BA was issued with a fine, whereas Virgin Atlantic claimed immunity for bringing the situation to the attention of the OFT.