The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) yesterday charged four past and present executives of British Airways (BA) with criminal price-fixing offences in the first prosecution of its kind against employees of a leading UK business.

The four, due before City of London Magistrates' Court next month, are accused of conspiring with counterparts in the rival Virgin Atlantic to set fuel surcharges on long-haul flights.

The OFT confirmed that it had filed formal charges against the four executives alleging that they “dishonestly agreed with others to make arrangements which directly fixed the price of UK air transport services”.

Price-fixing - made a specific criminal offence, called the cartel offence, in 2003 - carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail and unlimited fines.

The accused executives are Andrew Crawley, BA's head of sales; Martin George, the airline's former commercial director; Iain Burns, its former head of communications; and Alan Burnett, former head of UK sales.

BA confirmed that Mr Crawley was still an employee, but would not say whether he was carrying out his duties. Calls to his department were not answered. His lawyer did not return calls.

Mr George, who resigned in 2006, said that he denied any wrongdoing and remained committed to proving his innocence. In his resignation letter, Mr George said that “inappropriate conversations” about fuel surcharges may have taken place, adding that he was not personally involved.

Mr Burns, who also resigned in 2006, said yesterday that he was disappointed by the OFT decision, but hoped that it would allow the case to be fully analysed in a court and provide the opportunity to clear his name.

Mr Burnett, who retired in 2006, could not be reached for comment.

Fuel surcharges are added to standard ticket prices and were introduced to cover rising fuel costs. The racket caused 11 million BA customers to overpay at a cost of £100 million.

BA has already paid £270 million in fines for its role in the cartel after a joint investigation by the OFT and the US Department of Justice. Virgin Atlantic avoided fines and potential prosecutions after it approached the regulators to blow the whistle on the cartel.

The OFT would not comment on Virgin's immunity pact, but such deals typically involve individual executives agreeing to give evidence against alleged co-conspirators in court.

The prosecution indicates the OFT's increased willingness to use its criminal powers to police corporate conduct. Ros Kellaway, of Eversheds, the law firm, said that it would “no doubt send an unpleasant frisson through the UK business community”.

Jeremy Summers, of the law firm Russell Jones and Walker, said that the blend of criminal charges and an immunity pact indicated UK regulators' increasingly robust, US-style methods.

If any of the BA executives plead not guilty, the case is likely to be sent to the Crown Court, where the OFT will have to persuade a jury that they were in a dishonest conspiracy.

If the case goes to trial, it will be the first time a British court has had to decide on a criminal cartel case. The only other case - involving fixing of prices of oil-industry hoses - avoided a trial because the defendants pleaded guilty.

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