British Airways executives will appear in a US court on Thursday facing anti-trust charges for their role in fixing the prices of fuel surcharges.
A US judge has upheld a $300m (£150m) fine against British Airways (BA) for price fixing after a guilty plea.
BA will plead guilty to illegally setting surcharge levels in cooperation with rival Virgin Atlantic.
The case was heard by a judge in Washington, who had to formally approve the fine which was recommended in July by the Department of Justice.
It is expected the court will uphold the $300m (£150.1m) fine imposed on the airline by the Department of Justice.
BA now faces the likelihood of a class action lawsuit by thousands of US customers who were overcharged.
The ruling could open the way for a class action suit by thousands of US customers of BA who were overcharged.
The airline had tried to fix the price of fuel surcharges on US flights in collusion with Virgin Atlantic.
Named and indicted?
The US judge has to formally approve the fine recommended by the Department of Justice to BA earlier this month - the second biggest dispensed by the department to date.
The decision followed a detailed investigation into allegations that BA was holding talks with rivals over how much extra to charge on passenger and cargo flights to cover fuel costs.
Anti-competitive behaviour is entirely unacceptable and we condemn it unreservedly Willie Walsh, BA chief executive Q&A on BA price fixing
The UK's Office of Fair Trading was also involved in the investigation and fined BA £121.5m.
As Virgin Atlantic tipped off the OFT about the price-fixing scandal, it has been granted immunity.
It was the first time that the UK and the US have simultaneously brought action against a company.
The Department of Justice may also make it clear whether criminal charges will be brought against named BA executives, which could in theory result in prison sentences as well as fines.
Surcharge inquiry
BA had colluded with Virgin Atlantic on at least six occasions between August 2004 and January 2006, the OFT said. During that time, surcharges rose from £5 to £60 per ticket.
BA's chief executive Willie Walsh insisted that passengers had not been overcharged because fuel surcharges were "a legitimate way of recovering costs".
However, he acknowledged that the conduct of some of the carrier's employees had been wrong and could not be excused.
"Anti-competitive behaviour is entirely unacceptable and we condemn it unreservedly," Mr Walsh said earlier this month.
In October 2006, BA's commercial director, Martin George, and communications chief, Iain Burns - who had been on leave of absence since the inquiry into the surcharges began - quit the company.
