Exciting BDFA Membership News
08/04/08 15:20
Dear BDFA Member,
The BDFA Executive Committee is now able to share with you a project which we have been working on which has the potential to generate additional funding for the BDFA, to raise the public profile of our activities and also to play our part in changing the face of funding for other charities within the UK.
You may have seen the recent press coverage of the successful settlement against British Airways and Virgin Atlantic regarding fuel surcharge price-fixing. Virgin and BA have been fined a significant amount, which is to be refunded to passengers that travelled on long haul flights between 2004 and 2006. In the US the settlement requires that Virgin and BA give any unclaimed funds to charity, in this case it is going to Mercy Flights.
In the UK this is not the case and BA and Virgin will be refunded any unclaimed funds at the end of the claim period.We believe this is unfair and wish to set the precedent that UK charity close to the facts of the case should be able
to receive any unclaimed funds from the UK passenger fund. The BDFA has teamed up with the Association of Air Ambulance Charities (AAAC) and jointly we are challenging the settlement agreement.
We are obviously delighted to have been given the opportunity to present our case to the court in San Francisco and potentially play a part in making legal history. We have sought guidance on whether we could do something to bring about a positive change across the charitable sector in the UK and are now working closely with a US lawyer who will represent us at a hearing on the 25th April to ask the judge to allow UK claimants to donate their refunds to UK charity.
While this could be of great financial benefit to the BDFA, in the long term it will have even greater benefits for other charities in the UK and we are pleased to be able to play a part in this.
We feel that if the judge finds in our favour then this could provide an opportunity in future settlements of this kind for UK companies to demonstrate their social responsibility by donating surplus funds to UK charities rather than taking the money back. Please recommend to your friends, families and work colleagues that flew with Virgin and or BA between 11th August 2004 and 23rd March 2006 that they should register their details on www.airpassengerrefund.co.uk in advance of the settlement being allocated at the end of year. Our endeavours are reported in todays Financial Times, available on the FT website or from this link.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Kind regards,
Mike Miller-Smith
BDFA Chairman
Mike@BDFA.net
The BDFA Executive Committee is now able to share with you a project which we have been working on which has the potential to generate additional funding for the BDFA, to raise the public profile of our activities and also to play our part in changing the face of funding for other charities within the UK.
You may have seen the recent press coverage of the successful settlement against British Airways and Virgin Atlantic regarding fuel surcharge price-fixing. Virgin and BA have been fined a significant amount, which is to be refunded to passengers that travelled on long haul flights between 2004 and 2006. In the US the settlement requires that Virgin and BA give any unclaimed funds to charity, in this case it is going to Mercy Flights.
In the UK this is not the case and BA and Virgin will be refunded any unclaimed funds at the end of the claim period.We believe this is unfair and wish to set the precedent that UK charity close to the facts of the case should be able
to receive any unclaimed funds from the UK passenger fund. The BDFA has teamed up with the Association of Air Ambulance Charities (AAAC) and jointly we are challenging the settlement agreement.
We are obviously delighted to have been given the opportunity to present our case to the court in San Francisco and potentially play a part in making legal history. We have sought guidance on whether we could do something to bring about a positive change across the charitable sector in the UK and are now working closely with a US lawyer who will represent us at a hearing on the 25th April to ask the judge to allow UK claimants to donate their refunds to UK charity.
While this could be of great financial benefit to the BDFA, in the long term it will have even greater benefits for other charities in the UK and we are pleased to be able to play a part in this.
We feel that if the judge finds in our favour then this could provide an opportunity in future settlements of this kind for UK companies to demonstrate their social responsibility by donating surplus funds to UK charities rather than taking the money back. Please recommend to your friends, families and work colleagues that flew with Virgin and or BA between 11th August 2004 and 23rd March 2006 that they should register their details on www.airpassengerrefund.co.uk in advance of the settlement being allocated at the end of year. Our endeavours are reported in todays Financial Times, available on the FT website or from this link.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Kind regards,
Mike Miller-Smith
BDFA Chairman
Mike@BDFA.net