2000/74/EC: Commission Decision of 14 July 1999 relating to a proceeding under Article 82 of the EC Treaty (IV/D-2/34.780 - Virgin/British Airways) (notified under document number C(1999) 1973) (Text with EEA relevance) (Only the English text is authentic)

• Articles: 4

Article 1

British Airways plc infringed Article 82 of the Treaty by operating systems of commission and other incentives with the travel agents from whom it purchases air travel agency services in the United Kingdom, which, by rewarding loyalty from the travel agents and by discriminating between travel agents, have the object and effect of excluding BA's competitors from the United Kingdom markets for air transport.

Article 2

For the infringements referred to in Article 1, a fine of EUR 6,8 million is hereby imposed on British Airways plc.

The fine shall be paid, within three months of the date of notification of this Decision, into bank account No 310-0933000-43 of the European Commission, Banque Bruxelles Lambert, Agence Européenne, Rond Point Schuman 5, B-1040 Brussels. After the expiry of that period, interest shall be automatically payable at the rate applied by the European Central Bank to its repo operations on the first working day of the month in which this Decision is adopted, plus 3,5 percentage points, namely 6 %.

Article 3

British Airways plc shall immediately bring to an end the infringements referred to in Article 1 in so far as it has not already done so.

British Airways plc shall refrain from repeating any act or conduct described in Article 1, and from adopting any measure having equivalent effect.

Article 4

This Decision is addressed to British Airways plc, Waterside, PO Box 365, Harmondsworth, UB7 0GB, United Kingdom.

This Decision shall be enforceable pursuant to Article 256 of the Treaty.

Brussels, 14 July 1999.

For the Commission

Karel VAN MIERT

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ 13, 21.2.1962, p. 204/62.

(2) OJ 127, 20.8.1963, p. 2268/63.

(3) IATA World Air Transport Statistics No 42 WATS 4/98.

(4) Ibid.

(5) British Airways Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 1998.

(6) BA's reply of 13 August 1993 to a Commission request for information indicated that MAs had been in operation at least since 1992. The same letter had attached to it a standard MA for the period from April 1993 to March 1994. BA's reply of 13 December 1995 to a Commission request for information indicated that the scheme had continued in operation and that MAs were in force up to the end of the 1995/1996 season. Following the Commission's Statement of Objections of 20 December 1996 none of BA's subsequent statements indicated any change in their commercial policy.

(7) Following the formula reproduced in paragraph 26.

(8) Commission Decision 91/480/EEC, IATA Passenger Agency Programme (OJ L 258, 16.9.1991, p. 18), paragraph 38.

(9) Letter of 19 April 1999 from The Association of British Travel Agents to the Commission.

(10) Letter of 20 April 1999 from BA to the Commission.

(11) Commission Regulation (EC) No 3652/93 of 22 December 1993 on the application of Article 85(3) of the Treaty to certain categories of agreements between undertakings relating to computerised reservation systems for air transport services (OJ L 333, 31.12.1993, p. 37).

(12) Case 322/81 Michelin [1983] ECR 3461.

(13) Case 85/76 Hoffmann-La Roche [1979] ECR 541.

(14) Letter to Ms Frances Farrow of Virgin on 24 September 1993.

(15) Case T-24/90 Automec II [1992] ECR II-2223.

(16) For example, the long line of prohibition decisions starting with Joined Cases C-56 and 58/64 Consten & Grundig v. Commission [1966] ECR 299.

(17) See note 8, IATA Passenger Agency Programme.

(18) Council Regulation (EEC) No 3975/87 of 14 December 1987 laying down the procedure for the application of the rules on competition to undertakings in the air transport sector, (OJ L 374, 31.12.1987, p. 1).

(19) See Article 1 thereof.

(20) Case C-264/95 P Commission v. Union internationale des chemins de fer [1997] ECR I-1287.

(21) Council Regulation (EEC) No 1017/68 of 19 July 1968 applying rules of competition to transport by rail, road and inland waterway, (OJ L 175, 23.7.1968, p. 1).

(22) See Article 1 thereof.

(23) See Commission Notice on the definition of the relevant market for the purposes of Community competition law, (OJ C 372, 3.12.1997, p. 5), which quotes these definitions from Form A/B and Form CO.

(24) See footnote 24.

(25) See footnote 24.

(26) CAA report CAP 685 "The Single European Aviation Market: The First Five Years" 6/98, point 70 et seq and Appendix D.

(27) See footnote 8.

(28) Case 66/86 Ahmed Saeed Flugreisen [1989] ECR 803, paragraph 40.

(29) Cf. Case C-179/90 Porto di Genova [1991] ECR I-5889, where the market for dock services in one Italian port was considered to form a substantial part of the common market since that port accounted for a substantial part of the trade of one Member State.

(30) Case-85/76 Hoffmann-La Roche, cited in footnote 14.

(31) Joined Cases T-24/93, T-25/93, T-26/93 and T-28/93 Compagnie Maritime Belge Transports and Others v. Commission [1996] ECR II-1439, at paragraph 76.

(32) Cited in footnote 13.

(33) Cited in footnote 14.

(34) Hoffmann-La Roche, at paragraph 89.

(35) Hoffmann-La Roche, at paragraph 90.

(36) Cited in footnote 13.

(37) Michelin, at paragraph 72.

(38) Michelin, at paragraph 73.

(39) See footnote 15.

(40) Article 82(c) of the Treaty.

(41) See for example Commission Decision 97/1315/EC, Irish Sugar plc, (OJ L 258, 22.9.1997, p. 1), where the Commission followed the Court's judgment in Case 27/76 United Brands v. Commission [1978] ECR 207.